Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, the former chairman of Kadokawa Corporation, announced Tuesday that he is appealing his guilty verdict in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics bribery scandal. Simultaneously, Kadokawa filed a defamation lawsuit against current Kadokawa CEO Takeshi Natsuno and Tadashi Kunihiro, a lawyer involved in the company's internal investigation. Through this civil suit, Kadokawa seeks 20 million yen (approximately US$124,000) in damages, alleging that the company's investigation and its public dissemination of findings negatively impacted his reputation and infringed upon his right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence.
Kadokawa's legal team asserts that his testimony was omitted from the company's report, which remains accessible on Kadokawa's website. He is demanding its removal. Furthermore, he has spoken critically of Japan's legal system, describing it as "hostage justice" due to prolonged pre-trial detentions. Kadokawa himself was detained for 226 days before his trial, with his bail requests reportedly denied. He maintains his innocence and intends to sue the government for what he deems unlawful treatment.
In January 2024, the Tokyo District Court found Tsuguhiko Kadokawa guilty of bribing a former senior official of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee. He received a sentence of two years and six months imprisonment, suspended for four years. This conviction led to his resignation from Kadokawa, alongside vice-chair Masaki Matsubara, in October 2022, after their indictment. The bribery allegations center on Kadokawa company's suspected payment of approximately 69 million yen (about US$480,000) to a consultancy linked to Haruyuki Takahashi, a former organizing committee board member arrested for allegedly accepting bribes to secure sponsorships.
Source: Anime News Network(https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-06-17/former-kadokawa-chair-tsuguhiko-kadokawa-appeals-bribery-verdict-sues-kadokawa-president/.238620)
