Short answers, pulled from the story.
Kadokawa traces its origins to 1945, when it was founded as Kadokawa Shoten with the mission of revitalizing Japanese culture through publishing. The current holding company structure took shape on the 1st of July 2019, when Kadokawa Dwango was reorganized and renamed Kadokawa Corporation.
Sony acquired 12 million new shares in Kadokawa on the 7th of January 2025, paying 50 billion yen (approximately 320 million US dollars). The purchase gave Sony a 10% stake and made it Kadokawa's largest single shareholder at the time.
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa was arrested in September 2022 on bribery allegations. Prosecutors alleged he authorized a payment of 76 million yen to a consulting company linked to a former Tokyo Olympics organizing committee executive, allegedly in exchange for Kadokawa being named an official sponsor of the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. He was indicted on the 4th of October 2022, and announced his resignation as chairman the same day.
On the 8th of June 2024, the hacker group BlackSuit attacked multiple Kadokawa websites, suspending most services on the video streaming platform Niconico. On the 27th of June 2024, BlackSuit claimed responsibility on the dark web and threatened to release 1.5 terabytes of stolen data, including business partner and user information, unless a ransom was paid.
Yes. Kadokawa Corporation holds a 69.66% stake in FromSoftware, making the game studio a majority-owned subsidiary within the Kadokawa Group.
On the 29th of October 2021, Tencent acquired a 6.86% stake in Kadokawa for 30 billion yen (approximately 264 million US dollars). The alliance was aimed at expanding Kadokawa's global reach using Tencent's platforms, with China cited as a primary target.