Former Kadokawa Chair Tsuguhiko Kadokawa Appeals Bribery Verdict, Sues Company President
The appeal and lawsuit escalate the legal battle between Kadokawa's former leadership and current management, with implications for corporate governance and the company's handling of the Olympic bribery scandal.
Reporting from 1 sources: Anime News Network.
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa announced he is appealing his guilty verdict in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics bribery case and filed a defamation lawsuit against Kadokawa CEO Takeshi Natsuno and internal investigation lawyer Tadashi Kunihiro, seeking 20 million yen in damages. He claims the company's internal investigation compromised his right to a fair trial.
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, the former chairman of Kadokawa, announced Tuesday through the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan that he is appealing the guilty verdict handed down by the Tokyo District Court in January. The court sentenced him to two years and six months in prison, suspended for four years, for bribing a former senior official of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee. Kadokawa has maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings.
In a separate civil action filed the same day, Kadokawa is suing Kadokawa CEO Takeshi Natsuno and the company's internal investigation lawyer Tadashi Kunihiro for defamation, seeking 20 million yen (about US$124,000) in damages. His legal counsel Nobuo Gohara argued that the company's internal investigation and its public results excluded Kadokawa's testimony and damaged his public perception, affecting his presumption of innocence and right to a fair trial. Kadokawa also criticized Japan's "hostage justice" system, stating he was held in detention for 226 days pre-trial with repeated bail requests denied.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.