Kadokawa CEO's support falls to 60% at AGM after activist campaign (updated)

Kadokawa

25/06/2026 06:11

Adds context throughout, analyst comments and table.
Activists increasingly seeking to unseat executives 
Kadokawa has said it will examine management structure 
Kyocera chairman re-elected despite Oasis opposition
By Anton Bridge and Sam Nussey

    TOKYO, June 25 (Reuters) - Kadokawa's 9468.T CEO Takeshi Natsuno suffered a sharp drop in shareholder support at the Japanese anime and gaming giant's annual general meeting after an activist campaign to unseat him.
While he retained his board seat at Wednesday's AGM, shareholders voted only 59.68% in favour of his re-election, compared with 90% last year, the company said on Thursday.
Activists are increasingly seeking to eject top executives in Japan as they bet shareholders will vote to express their frustrations with corporate underperformance.
Hong Kong-based Oasis Management has been pushing for Natsuno to be replaced, citing falling profitability during his tenure, with proxy advisers also recommending shareholders oppose his re-election. 
The chairman of Japanese electronics manufacturer Kyocera 6971.T was re-elected on Thursday after a separate campaign by Oasis calling for his removal.
U.S.-based Kaname Capital also fell short in its campaign to remove the president of drugstore chain Cawachi 2664.T. Oasis scored a win last year when the CEO of chemical firm Taiyo Holdings 4626.T was removed from its board.
Kadokawa said after the AGM it would ⁠examine its management structure, executive compensation and progress of its medium-term business plan. Its board said earlier this month that removing Natsuno would create uncertainty, given the lack of a specific successor or alternative management plan. 
"There's strong impetus for Kadokawa to proactively make changes," said analyst Travis Lundy, who publishes on Smartkarma.
Kadokawa has said its problems include its reliance on the isekai subgenre, where characters find themselves transported to a fantasy world, at its publishing business and rising costs for anime productions. 
It reported a return on equity of 0.5% last year compared with 9.4% in the year ended March 2022. It has said it is targeting ROE of at least 12%.
"Seeing what has happened at Kadokawa, other companies' managers will be wary. The best defence against activists is a high stock price so they will do what they can to make their shares more expensive," said Lundy.

Activists https://reut.rs/4uRR8Oj
(Reporting by Anton Bridge and Sam Nussey
Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Alexander Smith)
((sam.nussey@tr.com;))