For
Kadokawa, 2025 did not end up closing well legally, and 2026 does not start any
better. The Japan Fair Trade Commission confirmed that the
publisher is being investigated for alleged violations of the
Freelancer Protection Act, specifically for its practices with writers,
illustrators, and stylists who worked in magazine production since the winter
of 2024. Kadokawa acknowledged the investigation on June 8 and stated that he
is cooperating with authorities.
What
you're accused of and why it matters
The core of
the accusation is simple but with concrete consequences: Kadokawa would have
been assigning work to freelancers verbally, without documenting the terms of
the contract in writing or specifying clear payment terms. That's not just an
administrative failure. Under Japanese law, when the payment term for
outsourced work is not explicitly specified in a document, the company is
obliged to pay on the same day the work is delivered. By not documenting
anything, Kadokawa would have been delaying those payments beyond what is
allowed, which is a direct violation of the regulations. More than a
hundred freelancers would have been affected by this practice.
What
aggravates the situation is that this is not the first time. In 2023, Kadokawa
and several of its subsidiaries had already been investigated for alleged
violations of the Outsourcing Law, in this case for having unfairly
reduced payment rates for writers and photographers. The commission issued a
formal warning the following year. That the same company appears in a similar
investigation just two years later raises questions about whether the
corrections that were made were actually enough.
In his June
8 statement, Kadokawa acknowledged the investigation and pledged to respond
sincerely and cooperatively. He indicated that he will make additional
announcements if matters arise that require public disclosure. No details have
been released on the full scope or specific findings of the investigation for
now.
Kadokawa
Corporation is
one of Japan's largest entertainment companies, with operations ranging from
light novel and manga publishing to anime production and video game development
through subsidiaries such as FromSoftware. Among its best-known franchises
are Sword Art Online, Re:Zero, KonoSuba, Oshi
no Ko and Elden Ring. Their size and influence within the
industry make regulatory investigations involving it especially relevant to the
Japanese creative ecosystem as a whole, which includes thousands of freelancers
whose employment status rarely receives the same attention as the productions
they help create.
