Yoshimoto Kogyo’s Akihiko Okamoto Talks LOL: Last One Laughing

For more than 100 years, Yoshimoto Kogyo has been entertaining Japanese audiences, often with the kinds of madcap comedy-variety shows the Asian nation has become so well known for. The arrival of the major streamers in Japan provided a new opportunity for the famed production house to expand its audience base, with the company teaming with Amazon’s Prime Video on Documental. The series, featuring an array of comedians trying to make each other laugh, has been a huge hit in Japan since its 2016 launch and is now a global success as LOL: Last One Laughing, having been formatted by a range of markets worldwide, among them Mexico, France, Italy, Argentina, the Philippines and, in 2025, the U.K. Akihiko Okamoto, the president and representative director at Yoshimoto Kogyo, discusses the road ahead for the company and the rising prominence of Japanese creativity across the globe.

TV FORMATS: How did your alliance with Prime Video come about?
OKAMOTO: Yoshimoto was established 112 years ago. We started in comedy clubs and managing talent. Over the 112 years of our company’s rich history, we’ve constantly evolved and adapted to industry and societal changes and predicated business practices around them to stay current and successful. Our dealings with Amazon’s Prime Video are representative of the latest iteration of our philosophy to embrace evolution, in this case, streaming and technology shifts in the entertainment industry. This is, for us, a chance to connect with the next generation of consumers.

TV FORMATS: What was the origin of Documental, and why do you think it has translated so well to so many territories?
OKAMOTO: Documental was created by one of the leading talents in our roster, Hitoshi Matsumoto, a top comedian in Japan. When Amazon was launching in Japan, we were having discussions with them, and he thought of the idea for Documental. From inception, starting with the ask of Matsumoto to come up with an idea for Amazon, we always thought that whatever this program or format would be, it should be translatable and understandable to the entire world. And that is what he came up with. This show came to be because it was Amazon asking us to come up with an idea. Amazon is a global platform, and because of its universality, we knew we had to come up with an idea that would be translatable worldwide.

TV FORMATS: What new opportunities are you seeing for your company, given Japanese creativity’s newfound prominence on an international stage?
OKAMOTO: Historically, the Japanese entertainment industry has focused on creative thinking and solutions toward what can be made successfully for Japanese terrestrial TV. When Amazon and Netflix launched in Japan, and all these digital tools and information technology developed, there was a way for Japanese creativity to be in touch with the rest of the world instantaneously. This is when Japanese creativity started to become unleashed around the world. It was inevitable that talented artists would have a newfound sense of what is cool and what will become trendy. When their work is exposed to the rest of the world, it is only natural for them to seize the opportunity and showcase their creativity around the world.

TV FORMATS: How are you growing the company today?
OKAMOTO: LOL is an Amazon-Yoshimoto collaboration and everything relating to the expansion of the format is done in tandem between Yoshimoto and Amazon. We work with many different streamers, platforms and studios worldwide, including Netflix. We’re looking to work with companies like Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Max, among other platforms and streamers around the world. Our strategy is to establish audience reach beyond what we have now.

TV FORMATS: Is there anything else you’d like to share with us about Yoshimoto’s international vision?
OKAMOTO: We value our strong relationship with Amazon and will continue to grow the LOL brand together. MIPCOM was a successful market for us, and we’re happy to have a high volume of attractive business opportunities to consider. We’re very much open to creating content from scratch and collaborating on international co-productions. We represent over 6,000 talents, and we’re ready to unleash them on the world! Our employees are working hard to create the next big thing that unleashes our talents’ creativity.