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Former Kadokawa chairman Tsuguhiko Kadokawa announced on Tuesday through The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan (FCCJ) that he is appealing his guilty verdict in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics bribery case. The former chairman also filed a defamation lawsuit on Tuesday against Kadokawa company CEO Takeshi Natsuno and the company’s internal investigation lawyer Tadashi Kunihiro.
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa is seeking 20 million yen (roughly US$124,000) in damages from Natsuno and Kunihiro in the civil case. His legal counsel Nobuo Gohara claimed the company’s internal investigation and results compromised Tsuguhiko Kadokawa’s public perception, which in turn affected his right to a fair trial and presumption of innocence. Tsuguhiko Kadokawa stated the investigation and subsequent public results did not include his testimony. He argued that the report, which remains publicly available on the company’s website, should be removed.
He also spoke out against Japan’s “hostage justice” system, which allegedly keeps defendants in holding indefinitely barring a guilty confession. The defendant was held in detention for 226 days pre-trial following his arrest and claims his repeated requests for bail were denied. He has maintained his innocence and stated plans to sue the government for his “unlawful” treatment.
Resignation and Suspended Jail Sentence
The Tokyo District Court found Tsuguhiko Kadokawa guilty of bribing a former senior official of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee on January 22 and sentenced him to two years and six months in prison, suspended for four years.
Other defendants accused of receiving bribes, including former organizing committee board member Haruyuki Takahashi, have denied the accusations and currently remain in trial.
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa and vice-chair Masaki Matsubara resigned from the company in October 2022 after being indicted for alleged bribery over sponsorship for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa’s Arrest
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa was arrested in September 2022 on suspicion of bribing a former member of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics organizing committee. Prosecutors said the company Kadokawa had continued to deny the allegations since Tsuguhiko Kadokawa’s arrest. The company is suspected of paying around 69 million yen (about US$480,000) to a consultancy linked to Haruyuki Takahashi, who was arrested in August 2022 on suspicion of accepting bribes from companies to secure their sponsorship for the Games. The firm belonged to Kazumasa Fukami, who once worked together with Takahashi at Dentsu Inc. before Takahashi became a member of the Olympic organizing committee. Takahashi allegedly used his network of contacts at Dentsu, which the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee commissioned to select and handle the sponsors, to secure Kadokawa’s position. Kadokawa became an “official supporter” of the Games in April 2019, and published the official programmes and results books. According to sources linked to the investigation, Kadokawa signed a deal with the consultancy to pay 69 million yen in 10 installments starting from May 2019. A portion of the money is believed to have been transferred to Takahashi.
Other Kadokawa-Related and Olympics-Related Arrests
Former Kadokawa executive Toshiyuki Yoshihara (64) and former senior official Kyо̄ji Maniwa (63) were arrested in September 2022 as part of the ongoing scandal. Prosecutors raided Kadokawa’s head office, the home of board chair Kadokawa, and the above-mentioned consulting firm. Tokyo’s Special Investigation Team had not revealed whether the four individuals confirmed or denied the charges. Yoshihara and Maniwa were indicted later that month. Takahashi was arrested in August 2022 on suspicion of accepting 51 million yen (about US$363,000) in bribes from clothing company Aoki Holdings Inc. The Osaka-based advertising firm Daiko has also come under scrutiny for paying at least 14 million yen (about US$99,600) to the firm.
Japan Times previously reported that Kadokawa Chairman Tsuguhiko Kadokawa claimed to reporters the money was just a consultancy fee and that there was “absolutely no recognition on his part that the money constituted a bribe.” NHK reported that, according to sources linked to the investigation, Takahashi denied charges of bribery, while Aoki Holdings founder Hironori Aoki admitted to it.
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa’s father Genyoshi founded Kadokawa Shoten as a publishing company in 1945. Tsuguhiko Kadokawa joined the company in 1966 and rose through the ranks before resigning as vice-president in 1992. He then founded the MediaWorks company. He returned to Kadokawa Shoten as president in 1993 after the former president, his brother Haruki, was arrested on drug charges. (Kadokawa Shoten later acquired Media Works and eventually shortened its name to just Kadokawa.)
Sources: NEWSjp, FCCJ’s website and YouTube channel, The Japan Times (Jessica Speed)
Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.
