Kadokawa Corporation

Kadokawa Corporation (Japanese: 株式会社KADOKAWA, Hepburn: Kabushiki-gaisha Kadokawa) formerly Kadokawa Dwango Corporation,[3] is a Japanese media conglomerate that was created as a result of the merger of the original Kadokawa Corporation and Dwango Co., Ltd. on October 1, 2014.[4][5]

"KADOKAWA" redirects here. For other uses, see Kadokawa.
Kadokawa Corporation
Native name
株式会社KADOKAWA
Kabushiki gaisha KADOKAWA
FormerlyKadokawa Dwango Corporation (2014-2019)
TypePublic
KK
Holding Company
TYO: 9468
Industry
Founded
  • November 10, 1945 (1945-11-10) (as Kadokawa Shoten)
  • June 6, 1997 (1997-06-06) (as Dwango)
  • October 1, 2014 (2014-10-01) (as Kadokawa Dwango Corporation)
FounderGenyoshi Kadokawa (for the Kadokawa Shoten branch)
HeadquartersFujimi, Chiyoda,
Tokyo
,
Japan
Area served
Global
Key people
Tatsuo Sato
(Chairman)
Nobuo Kawakami
(President)
Revenue¥201 billion (2016)
¥9 billion (2016)
Total assets¥202 billion [1]
OwnersNobuo Kawakami (8.77%)
Sony (1.93%)
CyberAgent (1.93%)[2]
Websiteir.kadokawa.co.jp/global/

The company known today as Kadokawa Corporation was originally founded in 1945 as Kadokawa Shoten, to "revitalize Japanese culture through publishing" in the postwar era.[6] It was merged with Dwango Co., Ltd. to form Kadokawa Dwango on October 1, 2014, and became a subsidiary of Kadokawa Dwango.

In February 2019, Kadokawa Dwango announced that Dwango would stop being their subsidiary to be a direct subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation in a reorganization of the company. This made Kadokawa Corporation the sole subsidiary of the holding company Kadokawa Dwango.[7]

On July 1, 2019, Kadokawa Dwango was reorganized again;[8] only the publishing business remained in Kadokawa Corporation, and it was renamed Kadokawa Future Publishing, while Kadokawa Dwango itself became the second iteration of Kadokawa Corporation and the holding company of all of the Kadokawa Group companies. The original name Kadokawa Shoten remains as a brand and a division of Kadokawa Future Publishing.

On February 4, 2021, Kadokawa announced that the company had formed a Capital Alliance with Sony and CyberAgent to strengthen the company's creation, development, and acquisition of new IP while also maximizing use of existing IPs. As part of the agreement both Sony and CyberAgent would each receive a 1.93% stake in the company.[2]

Group companies

Kadokawa Corporation serves to bring together several affiliated Japanese companies related to Kadokawa Shoten under what is known as the Kadokawa Group.[9] These companies are of three types: publishing, film and visuals, and cross media. The publishers primarily deal with books, bunkobon paperbacks, manga, and visual media magazines;[10] the film and visual companies deal with Japanese feature films and DVD sales of international films and anime;[11] the cross media companies deal with digital content, urban information and television program information magazines, along with information transmission combining paper media, the Internet, and mobile phones.[12] Other aspects of the group are handled by the other business segment which primarily takes care of video games, real estate leasing, and comprises an advertising agency.[13]

Former subsidiaries
  • Asmik Ace
  • Daihyakka News: Merged with Dwango in July 2019.
  • Kadokawa Entertainment: On November 1, 2009, Kadokawa Entertainment was merged into Kadokawa Pictures.
  • Kadokawa Group Publishing: On April 1, 2013, Kadokawa Group Publishing was merged into Kadokawa Group Holdings.
  • Kadokawa J:COM Media: Established in November 2005 as a joint venture between Kadokawa Shoten and J:COM.[15] It was eliminated in June 2010.
  • So-net Kadokawa Link: Established on June 27, 2007 with So-net Entertainment (43.5%), Kadokawa Mobile (43.5%), and Dentsu E-link[16] (13.0%).[17]
  • Kadokawa Mobile and Movie Gate: On October 1, 2009, Kadokawa Mobile merged with Movie Gate to form Kadokawa Contents Gate.[18]
  • Kadokawa Production: On October 1, 2013, the company was dissolved and integrated in Kadokawa Corporation.
  • Mages: On July 12, 2019, Mages was acquired by Chiyomaru Studio, a concept and copyright company also headed by Mages CEO.[19]
  • MediaLeaves: On January 10, 2010, MediaLeaves was merged into Enterbrain.[20]
  • NTT Prime Square: On November 30, 2010, Fan service endedm joint venture with NTT.
  • Sarugakucho: Became part of Kadokawa Group Holdings under Enterbrain during the ASCII acquisition. On March 31, 2010, Pole To Win announced that it has acquired Sarugakucho.[21]
  • Studio Lide: Closed in April 2019.
  • Words Gear: On September 26, 2006, Panasonic announced the establishment of Words Gear with Kadokawa Mobile and Tokyo Broadcasting System, effective on October 2, 2006.[22] On September 30, 2010, Kadokawa Group Holdings announced merging Words Gear into Kadokawa Contents Gate, with Kadokawa Contents Gate as the surviving company, effective on January 1, 2011.[23]

References
  1. "カドカワ株式会社". ir.kadokawadwango.co.jp. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  2. "Kadokawa Corporation Forms Capital Alliance with CyberAgent, Sony". Anime News Network. February 5, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  3. カドカワ株式会社 Kadokawa Kabushiki-gaisha, until October 1, 2015 株式会社KADOKAWA・DWANGO
  4. "Dwango to merge with Kadokawa". The Japan Times. May 14, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  5. "Publisher Kadokawa, Internet firm Dwango complete merger". The Japan Times. October 1, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  6. "Kadokawa Corporation: Corporation History".
  7. Ressler, Karen. "Nobuo Kawakami Steps Down as Kadokawa Dwango President". Anime News Network. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  8. "会社分割（簡易吸収分割）の実施、商号変更及び定款一部変更、並びに代表取締役及び役員の異動に関するお知らせ" (PDF). E-IR (in Japanese). Pronexus Inc. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  9. グループ会社一覧 [Group Company Summary] (in Japanese). Kadokawa Group Holdings. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
  10. "Publishing businesses under Kadokawa Group Holdings". Kadokawa Group Holdings. Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  11. "Movie/Visual businesses under Kadokawa Group Holdings". Kadokawa Group Holdings. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  12. "Cross media businesses under Kadokawa Group Holdings". Kadokawa Group Holdings. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  13. "Other businesses under Kadokawa Group Holdings". Kadokawa Group Holdings. Archived from the original on November 17, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  14. "Report: Kadokawa Acquires Dark Souls Developers From Software". Silliconera. April 28, 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  15. "角川ジェイコム・メディア 「J:COM Walker」創刊 J:COM さいたま、J:COM 相模原・大和 各サービスエリアで8 月に発行" (in Japanese). PR Times. June 14, 2007. Archived from the original on April 4, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  16. インターネット分野専門の広告会社「電通イー・リンク」を設立 (PDF) (in Japanese). Cyber Communications. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  17. －「地域情報映像」×「ネット地域広告」×「ネット対応機器」－ 「株式会社ソネット・カドカワ・リンク」を3 社共同で設立 ～高品質映像で嗜好に適した情報と出会える『地域情報探訪サイト』を構築～ (PDF) (in Japanese). So-net Entertainment. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 12, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  18. 連結子会社 角川モバイルとムービーゲートの合併に関して (PDF) (in Japanese). Kadokawa Group Holdings. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  19. Romano, Sal (2019-07-26). "Mages goes independent from Kadokawa Group, 5pb. to consolidate into Mages". Gematsu. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
  20. "MediaLeaves, Inc. announcement" (in Japanese). MediaLeaves. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  21. 株式会社猿楽庁の株式取得（子会社化）に関するお知らせ (PDF) (in Japanese). Pole To Win. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 19, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  22. "角川・松下電器・TBS 3社が電子書籍事業会社 「ワーズギア株式会社」設立で合意 ～読書端末とコンテンツを提供～" (in Japanese). Panasonic. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  23. グループ企業再編による 映像・雑誌・デジタル事業の強化について (PDF) (in Japanese). Kadokawa Group Holdings. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
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