Kadokawa Launches Kadokawa Creators Production Initiative

Japanese media conglomerate Kadokawa has announced the establishment of a new subsidiary company in Kadokawa Creators dedicated to the development of new and emerging talent within the Japanese animation industry with newly appointed CEO Koichiro Natsume.

The studio aims to provide an environment where young emergiging creatives, including new graduates, can be involved in actual production in professional settings from the first step of their careers, and aim to become the main creators of the next generation. Based on a stable working environment through employee recruitment, Kadokawa Creators aims simultaneously promote creative development and the stability of the overall production base, which are longstanding issues in the industry.

In recent years, while the Japanese animation industry has continued to expand its global market, the field has faced challenges such as “low retention rate of young creators” and “lack of training opportunities”. There is also data that the turnover rate from the animation industry is about 25% within 4 years and 68% within 8 years*, and the current situation where leaders are busy with daily work and cannot devote time to technology inheritance, and it is difficult for young people to systematically acquire skills, which is one of the serious issues in the industry that will shake the future production system.

Due to this industry-wide talent shortage, it is becoming increasingly difficult to secure resources for external studios. Kadokawa believes that in order to continue to deliver high-quality IP stably, it is essential to strengthen the “sustainable model” by proactively developing human resources and maintaining a stable production base.

For this reason, our company has launched a new concept of “creating people who create. As the second installment of the project, the company will establish KADOKAWA Creators to accelerate investment in “people”, which is the driving force behind IP creation and LTV maximization. Through this, we will further promote our basic strategy of “Global Media Mix with Technology” and work head-on to solve industry issues.