Shareholder Bid Fails To Oust Kadokawa CEO

Kadokawa Corporation said activist shareholder Oasis Management failed to secure a majority vote to remove CEO Takeshi Natsuno, even though Oasis is the company’s largest shareholder with a 15.25 percent stake. Oasis had proposed Natsuno’s dismissal, calling him “markedly unsuitable to serve as a Director of the Company,” and pointed to several concerns: earnings per share have fallen to less than half over the five years since his election, a “quantity over quality” strategy that it says has weakened intellectual properties, and the group’s inability to translate ownership of FromSoftware into global publishing and broader IP monetization.

Following the June 24 shareholders’ vote, Kadokawa said a majority backed Natsuno’s proposal. Under that plan the company added Koji Okura, former Director of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, to its board. The notice did not specify the exact percentage that voted in favor.

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