Amazon lines up Japanese originals

Amazon has reportedly launched a slate of Japan-produced original series for its Prime Video service.

According to Bloomberg, Amazon is debuting 12 shows in a bid to up Japanese Prime membership, which also includes shipping retail privileges.

The shows include Ultraman Orb, a spin-off of the Ultraman superhero franchise; documentary Invisible Tokyo; and high concept comedy Work in Space.

Japan is one of e-commerce giant Amazon’s largest trading markets, and is one of a few territories where the SVOD service is available.

With Netflix creating its own Japanese originals, Amazon has made its latest move, which comes after its on-demand service debuted in September 2015.

“We are going to keep strengthening the original content that you can only see on Amazon Prime,” said Jasper Cheung, president of Amazon Japan.

In the US, Amazon has created a strong pipeline of original content with series such as Transparent, Betas and The Man in the High Castle, while in Germany it is currently producing its first original, convention centre-based drama Wanted. It is also producing The Collection with BBC Worldwide and France Télévisions.