Kadokawa has confirmed that 154 employees will leave the company after accepting a voluntary early retirement offer, as the entertainment giant seeks to streamline its organization and reduce long-term personnel costs.
The program, announced in May 2026, was open to employees aged 45 and older who had worked at the company for at least five years. Participants were offered enhanced severance packages as well as optional support in finding new employment. Employees who accepted the offer are expected to leave the company by July 31.
Kadokawa estimates that the program will result in approximately 5.4 billion yen (about $33.6 million) in severance costs, which will be recorded as an extraordinary loss in its first-quarter financial results. However, the company expects the downsizing to reduce annual personnel expenses by as much as 1.7 billion yen ($10.6 million), with savings beginning to offset the restructuring costs over the coming years.
The company has recently faced declining publishing profits, criticism over an alleged violation of Japan’s Freelancers Protection Act, and increasing pressure from activist investors. Hong Kong-based investment firm Oasis Management has steadily increased its stake to 15.25%, making it Kadokawa’s largest shareholder and publicly pushing for management changes.
Kadokawa is one of Japan’s largest entertainment companies, with businesses spanning publishing, anime, films, games, and web services. It owns or has stakes in numerous major entertainment companies and franchises, including FromSoftware, Doga Kobo, Niconico, and a vast catalog of manga, light novels, and anime properties.
They should just shut down entirely, since they are behind sooo much censorship and pandering to western troons. Endless amounts of censored anime adaptations, video games under them all having the tranny “body type” mental illness to pander to the rainbow death cult.
Just shut it all down.
They are doing their due diligence to prevent early porn exposure to kids. This was your talking point, you should be happy about the censorship, trannoid.
Shan’t be reading your tranny seethe response, fagfaggypoo!
Say it again on your alts!
White fragility.
Retarded c♥♥t thinks having to focus to read two words is a flex.
Capabilities in line with how retarded this drone is.
Mmmm nope, not reading this tranny seethe response either!
Say it again on your alts trantrannypoo!
“Voluntary” = “Forced with kindness”
Because of Japanese law, you can’t force people out of the company. Even that white room you might be put into just to do nothing might as well be early retirement since they still have to pay you
Bad decision. The old guys are the only one’s left with experience and talent, it’s going to be downhill from here, since the new hires don’t have the opportunity to properly learn anymore.