KADOKAWA president and CEO Takeshi Natsuno dropped a bombshell in a recent Nikkei interview about the company’s 2026 international expansion plans: Japanese creators need to stop trying to please Western audiences and focus on what works at home first.
“If you create content that sells in Japan, it will sell abroad“, Natsuno stated bluntly. His message is crystal clear, authenticity beats adaptation every single time.
Japan first, global success second
Natsuno’s philosophy centers on a deceptively simple premise: great content doesn’t need geographical compromise. “You can create unique works if you don’t commercialize with the mindset of ‘Let’s make a manga that sells globally’“, the executive explained.
Instead, he’s pushing for KADOKAWA to produce a diverse range of intellectual property without sacrificing quality for mass appeal.
The CEO’s stance is that Japanese authenticity is the actual export product, not watered-down content designed by committee to hit international checkboxes.
It’s a bold rejection of the “think global” mantra that’s dominated entertainment business strategy for decades.
Internal contradictions at KADOKAWA
Here’s where things get interesting: Natsuno’s comments directly clash with statements made by Daijo Kudo, KADOKAWA’s Head of Anime, who suggested back in August 2025 that the company needed to produce anime with “themes that would also appeal to Western audiences“.
This internal disagreement highlights the ongoing tension within major Japanese media corporations, should they adapt to global tastes or double down on what makes them distinctly Japanese?
Natsuno clearly falls into the latter camp, and as CEO, his vision carries significant weight.
Beyond creative philosophy, Natsuno emphasized KADOKAWA’s business strategy of establishing its own foreign subsidiaries, mentioning even the Middle East as a potential market, to stop losing revenue through low royalty payments to external licensors.
The goal is straightforward: total distribution control paired with creative purity.
Whether this approach succeeds or backfires remains to be seen, but one thing’s certain: KADOKAWA isn’t interested in playing it safe for Western sensibilities.
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