Oishi will take up the role today (January 20), moving from his position as director and general manager of Amazon Music Japan. The executive joined Amazon in 2014 after 17 years at Sony Corp, where he rose to senior manager of strategy in the PC business unit. He reports to Gaurav Gandhi, vice president of Prime Video Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.
Oishi replaces Takashi Kodama, a former Disney Japan executive, who stepped down from Amazon in November to become president and CEO of Amutus Corporation, the parent company of Japanese digital manga distributor Mecha Comic.
The appointment follows continued growth for Prime Video in Japan, which led all streaming services in the country with 19.7 million monthly active users, according to a report published last year by Media Partners Asia. A more recent report by MPA stated that Japan has the third fastest growth rate for streaming in Asia – behind India and China – with a projected 15% growth by 2029.
Alongside its main SVOD business, Prime Video Japan also offers add-on subscriptions, providing access to popular streaming services, and has one of the largest TVOD content libraries in the country. It has advanced in its live sports offering around major events in boxing, baseball, and other sports.
While Prime Video backed away from original productions in Southeast Asia last year, it continues to invest in Japan and India. Recent features include Takeshi Kitano’s Broken Rage, which became the first Japanese film produced for streaming to be officially selected for Venice, where it received its world premiere last year. It will stream on Prime Video from February 13.
In an internal email to the Prime Video Asia Pacific team today, Gandhi said: “We’ve seen great success with our content and incredible customer growth for Prime Video in Japan over the last few years thanks to all your great work, creativity, and relentless focus on the customer. I remain super excited about the future of our Prime Video Japan business, especially with our plans and initiatives for 2025.” Screen Daily