A few days ago, Takeshi Natsuno, CEO of the media group KADOKAWA, commented on the economic situation in the anime industry and made a highly controversial demand. We summarize.
Mergers as a role model
Natsuno explained that while animators’ pay is often the focus of discussion, in his view it is not the root cause of the problems. Rather, the industry suffers from the fact that numerous small companies have to maintain their own management, administration and sales structures in parallel.
The resulting costs would ultimately be at the expense of profitability and make anime less profitable overall. In addition, Natsuno believes that the resources spent on administrative and sales tasks could be put to better use in creative areas.
As a possible solution, the KADOKAWA CEO suggested greater consolidation in the industry and referred, among others, to Square Enix, Koei Tecmo and Sega Sammy, each of which emerged from corporate mergers.
Pooled organizational structures allow resources to be used more specifically, so that the studios can focus more on the production and development of new content.
Contradiction from politics
Natsuno received opposition from the Japanese politician Kimi Onoda, who as Minister of State is responsible for the ambitious “Cool Japan” strategy.
She emphasized that small companies in particular often come up with particularly innovative ideas because their size means they can experiment more quickly and implement new concepts.
At the same time, Onoda emphasized that the great diversity of the Japanese content industry is one of its most important strengths. This special feature should not be lost in the course of possible reforms or structural changes.
The statements come at a time when KADOKAWA itself is facing challenges. After a noticeable decline in profits, the group is increasingly exposed to criticism from investor Oasis Management, which is calling on shareholders to vote against Natsuno’s re-election at the next general meeting.
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