Chairman of FromSoftware parent company arrested for bribing Olympic official

The chairman of FromSoftware’s parent company Kadokawa Corporation is being charged with bribery, as reported by VGC.

FromSoftware is a Japanese video game development company, known for its most recent release Elden Ring. Sony recently invested in FromSoftware, leading to speculations of video game movies and television shows for games like Bloodborne.

Meanwhile, however, chairman Tsuguhiko Kadokawa has been arrested for bribery. He was arrested on Sept. 14 on suspicion of bribery but has now been charged. Kadokawa allegedly attempted to bribe a member of the Tokyo Olympics organization committee with the equivalent of $476,000.

It was never made public what this bribe was exactly for, although prosecutors believe the payments were made to give Kadokawa Corp. official sponsor status for the Tokyo Olympics back in April 2019. This made the company the official publisher of the Tokyo Games’ guidebooks and records as well.

“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,” the company said.

In response to the charge, Kadokawa has announced his resignation.

“Today, I have decided to resign as chairman of Kadokawa,” Kadokawa said to a Japanese newspaper. “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.”

Kadokawa said it was “necessary” to take responsibility for the situation. He added that the company needs “new structure” to overcome what he did, hence his decision to step down.

What is Kadokawa Corporation?

Kadokawa Corporation is the majority owner of FromSoftware, a Japanese game developer that launched Elden Ring and Dark Souls. Kadokawa Corporation owns almost 70 percent of the studio. Sony and Tencent own the rest.

Kadokawa Corporation also owns Spike Chunsoft, the studio behind Danganronpa, Mystery Dungeon, and Zero Escape.

In addition, Kadokawa published Lollipop Chainsaw but former Kadokawa Games CEO Yoshimi Yasuda acquired the rights to the game and is working on a new version under a new company, Dragami Games.