\n*Support for CEO Takeshi Natsuno\u2019s reappointment fell sharply to 59.68%, down from 90.26% last year, with over 40% of represented votes at the AGM withholding affirmative support<\/i><\/b><\/p>
\n*Weak support for Board Chair and Nomination Committee Chair Hiroo Unoura and internal director Nobuo Kawakami shows shareholder concerns extend beyond CEO Natsuno to the Board\u2019s broader effectiveness, independence, and accountability<\/i><\/b><\/p>
\n*Oasis is deeply disappointed that CEO Natsuno avoided facing questions from Oasis at the AGM, further demonstrating management\u2019s evasion of accountability<\/i><\/b><\/p>
\n*Oasis will continue its engagement with KADOKAWA and its Board to support the Company\u2019s long-term corporate value for \u201cA Better KADOKAWA\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>
\nMore information is available at <\/i><\/b>www.abetterkadokawa.com<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p> HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--O<\/i>asis Management Company Ltd. (\u201cOasis\u201d), the investment manager to private funds that own approximately 15.25% of the shares of KADOKAWA CORPORATION (\u201cKADOKAWA\u201d or the \u201cCompany\u201d), today comments on the outcome of KADOKAWA\u2019s 2026 Annual General Meeting held on June 24, 2026.<\/p> \nWhile Oasis is deeply disappointed that CEO Takeshi Natsuno was reappointed as a director of the Company, the voting results represent a significant milestone in the campaign for accountability at KADOKAWA.<\/p> \nAt the AGM, CEO Natsuno received only 59.68% support<\/b> for reappointment, a sharp decline from 90.26% support last year, indicating that more than 40% of voting rights represented at the AGM did not affirmatively support his continued directorship. For a sitting CEO of a major Japanese listed company, this is an exceptionally weak mandate, pursuant to which most other CEOs would understand that their continued leadership was untenable and therefore resign to clear the way for a succession process to identify and bring onboard new leadership. The voting results at the AGM are a clear warning from shareholders that the Board cannot and should not disregard, and demonstrates that a substantial body of shareholders shares Oasis\u2019s concerns regarding KADOKAWA\u2019s deteriorating performance, missed targets, poor execution, weak governance, and lack of accountability under CEO Natsuno\u2019s leadership.<\/p> \nThe substantial number of abstentions is also significant. In Oasis\u2019s view, the level of abstention appears to indicate that dissatisfaction with current management was not limited to institutional investors or retail shareholders but has also extended to strategic and corporate shareholders, for whom declining to affirmatively support a sitting CEO is a serious and meaningful decision and message. The Board should treat this outcome as evidence of materially weakened confidence in management across KADOKAWA\u2019s shareholder base.<\/p> \nThe voting results also warrant scrutiny beyond CEO Natsuno alone. Mr. Hiroo Unoura, Chairperson of the Board and the Nomination Committee at KADOKAWA and Special Advisor to NTT, Inc., a major shareholder of the Company, received only 75.56% support<\/b>. Mr. Nobuo Kawakami, who has served as an internal director of KADOKAWA since 2014, received only 77.86% support<\/b>. Oasis believes these results reinforce that shareholders are not only concerned about CEO Natsuno\u2019s leadership, but also about the broader effectiveness, independence, and accountability of KADOKAWA\u2019s Board.<\/p> \nOasis was also deeply disappointed by the conduct of the AGM itself. An AGM should be the one formal annual opportunity for shareholders to engage directly with the full Board, and a listed company should allocate sufficient time and provide shareholders with a fair and equal opportunity to ask questions of the directors entrusted with oversight. However, a majority of KADOKAWA\u2019s outside directors attended remotely and appeared only briefly at the beginning of the meeting. CEO Natsuno, acting as Chairperson of the AGM, also did not allow Oasis to ask any questions during the general shareholder Q&A period, despite Oasis being KADOKAWA\u2019s largest shareholder and repeatedly seeking to ask questions during the Q&A session.<\/p> \nA listed company\u2019s AGM should be a forum for transparent dialogue and meaningful accountability to shareholders, not a venue where difficult questions from a major shareholder are avoided. The Board\u2019s apparent tolerance of such conduct raises serious questions about whether KADOKAWA\u2019s directors are fulfilling their fiduciary duty to provide effective oversight and ensure meaningful shareholder dialogue.<\/p> \nFollowing these results, the Board must manage KADOKAWA with an exceptionally heightened sense of urgency and be prepared to face, sincerely and directly, the message delivered by shareholders through this AGM. In particular, given the sharp decline in shareholder confidence in the sitting CEO, the Board and the Nomination Committee must immediately revisit CEO succession planning, including by actively identifying and evaluating alternative internal and external leadership candidates.<\/p> \nIn addition, all of KADOKAWA\u2019s directors must engage in a far more serious review of the Company\u2019s governance, Board composition, and management structure, and devote substantially more time, attention, and resources to the Company than they have to date. The AGM result should not be treated as a routine approval, but as a clear mandate for urgent accountability and fundamental improvement.<\/p> \nLastly, Oasis would like to express its deepest gratitude to the many fellow shareholders, employees, creators, fans, business partners, and other stakeholders who have expressed support for \u201cA Better KADOKAWA.\u201d Oasis continues to believe that KADOKAWA has world-class assets that remain significantly undervalued. Realizing this potential requires leadership accountability, disciplined oversight, credible execution, and genuine dialogue with shareholders and stakeholders.<\/p> \nOasis will continue engaging constructively with KADOKAWA, its Board, fellow shareholders and other stakeholders to support the Company\u2019s long-term corporate value. KADOKAWA\u2019s Board should treat this vote as what it is: a clear warning that meaningful change remains necessary.<\/p>