Prime Video appoints Keisuke Oishi from Amazon Music as head of its Japanese operations
Prime Video has named Keisuke Oishi as its new country manager for Japan, effective January 20. The experienced Amazon executive, who most recently served as director and general manager of Amazon Music Japan, will report to Gaurav Gandhi, VP of Prime Video Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. He replaces Kodama Takashi.
Oishi brings a decade of Amazon experience, having joined the company in 2014 following a stint at Sony Corporation. The Hitotsubashi University alumnus rose through the ranks at Amazon Japan, holding key positions including head of the software and video game division and director of the entertainment media division, where he oversaw the company’s packaged media operations across multiple entertainment verticals.
The appointment comes as the streaming giant continues to gain momentum in the Japanese market, where it has established itself as a go-to destination for local content. In addition to its core SVOD offering, Prime Video Japan has expanded to include additional subscription services and boasts one of Japan’s most extensive TVOD libraries. The platform has also made significant strides in live sports streaming, with boxing and baseball events having struck a chord with Japanese viewers. In the fast-growing Asian streaming market, Japan has the third fastest growth rate at 15%, according to a recent study by Media Partners Asia.
In an internal communication to the Prime Video Asia Pacific team, Gandhi expressed optimism about the platform’s trajectory in Japan. “We have seen great success with our content over the past few years and incredible customer growth for Prime Video in Japan thanks to all your great work, creativity and relentless customer focus,” he wrote, adding that he was “super excited” about the agency’s plans and initiatives for 2025.
In 2024, Prime Video dropped original productions in Southeast Asia. Japan and India were unscathed. “There is no change in our investment focus in our other APAC territories including Japan and India,” Gandhi had said in a letter to employees at the time.
Prime Video recently delivered a global premiere in February for “Broken Rage,” the latest feature film from acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Kitano.
