Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, the Chairman of Japanese Kadowaka Corporation, majority owner of Elden Ring and Dark Souls developer FromSoftware, has been charged and arrested for bribing a member of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee.
Related: Tencent and Sony acquired over 30% of FromSoftware’s shares from Kadowaka Corporation
Kadokawa was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of offering around 69 million yen ($481,000) in bribes to Haruyuki Takashi, the former executive of the Tokyo Olympic committee. The scandal surrounding the committee also involves important figures of the Japanese business world and ex-Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.
Besides Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, company executives Toshiyuki Yoshihara and Kyoji Maniwa have also been arrested for the same charges.
Kadowaka Corporation released a statement saying:
“Kadokawa Corporation announces that Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, Chairman of the Board, who was arrested on suspicion of bribery on September 14, 2022, was prosecuted by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office today. We take this matter very seriously and deeply apologize to all those concerned, including our readers, customers, authors, creators, business partners, shareholders, and investors, for the considerable inconvenience this matter has caused.”
Kadowaka, who has been the chairman of the company since 2019, handed in his resignation from the company and made a statement via his legal team saying:
“Today, I have decided to resign as chairman of Kadokawa. Recently, not only I but two other Kadokawa employees were arrested and prosecuted in connection with the corruption scandal involving the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This incident is a great ordeal for Kadokawa, and I believe that it needs a new structure in order to overcome it.”
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa joined the company in 1966 as executive vice president and replaced his brother as the company president after his brother was arrested for smuggling drugs in 1993.
