KADOKAWA Announces Launch of Animation Production Hub “Studio One Base” Set to Open in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, in Autumn 2026. KADOKAWA, Toshima City, and Sunshine City to Strengthen Their Partnership to Develop Ikebukuro into a “World-Class Anime City”! | NEWS RELEASEKADOKAWA GROUP GLOBAL PORTAL SITE

KADOKAWA Announces Reform of Its Animation and Film Production, and Launches New Vision: “Creating Creators. Creating Studios.” Animation Production Hub "Studio One Base" Set to Open in Ikebukuro, Tokyo in Autumn 2026

Tokyo, Japan - KADOKAWA CORPORATION has announced the launch of a new vision, "Creating Creators. Creating Studios.”, designed to fundamentally strengthen its animation and film production structure. This vision aims to create an environment in which creators can take pride in their work. As the first step under this new vision, KADOKAWA will consolidate its animation production studios and establish Studio One Base. The approximately 4,628 ㎡ facility will be located within Sunshine City in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, and is scheduled to open in autumn 2026.

In recent years, Japan's animation industry has continued to expand globally, with the number of titles and the scale of projects increasing. However, the industry is facing issues at its production sites, including a shortage of creators and complex operations, and must, as a whole, develop a sustainable production structure. Against this background, KADOKAWA has positioned its animation production structure as a key pillar supporting the expansion of its IP.

In April 2025, KADOKAWA established the new Studio Business Division, which oversees animation and film production studios across sectors. The company has since been improving work environments and reinforcing its systems for recruiting and developing human resources, including consolidating back-office functions, improving welfare programs, and having all its studios participate in joint recruitment activities. Studio One Base is being established as a large-scale animation production hub, and KADOKAWA will physically consolidate multiple animation production studios within it to ensure that information is promptly shared and integrated into operations. KADOKAWA will create an environment that enables creators to focus on production and will strengthen the integration of studios' expertise and the development of young creators, in addition to further accelerating existing initiatives, such as consolidating back-office functions.

KADOKAWA will continue to enhance its IP creation capabilities by enhancing its production capacity and expanding its support for creators under its vision, Creating Creators. Creating Studios.

Outline of Studio One Base

Scheduled Opening: Fall 2026 (planned)
Location: An office space in the Sunshine City Building in Ikebukuro
Total Floor Area: Approx. 4,628 ㎡
Occupying Companies: KADOKAWA CORPORATION (related departments), ENGI Co., Ltd., Studio KADAN Co., Ltd., RagingBull Inc., BELLNOX FILMS Co., Ltd., and chiptune, Inc.
Number of Employees: Approx. 400 people

Conceptual renders of Studio One Base

Future Prospects

The impact of this matter towards KADOKAWA’s consolidated business results is expected to be immaterial.

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KADOKAWA CORPORATION
Toshima City
Sunshine City Corporation

KADOKAWA, Toshima City, and Sunshine City to Strengthen Their Partnership to Develop Ikebukuro into a “World-Class Anime City”! Large Scale Animation Production Hub “Studio One Base” to be Established in Sunshine City, Ikebukuro in Autumn 2026

Tokyo, Japan - KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Toshima City, and Sunshine City Corporation have announced the establishment of a new production hub Studio One Base in Sunshine City, Ikebukuro, as a part of KADOKAWA's consolidation of its animation production studios. With this opening as a starting point, this project is a strengthening of their partnership for the development of Ikebukuro into a “World-Class Anime City” and an integration of entertainment and creative endeavors.

(From left) Takeshi Kikuchi (Chief Studio Officer, KADOKAWA CORPORATION), Miyuki Takagiwa (Mayor of Toshima City), Hidemi Waki (President and CEO, Sunshine City Corporation)

Background and objective

The Japanese animation market has continued to grow. Data published by the Association of Japanese Animations show that the animation market grew 14.8% year on year to 3,840.7 billion yen in 2024, reaching a record high. The Government of Japan has positioned the content industry, which includes anime, manga, movies, and games, as one of the country's key industries, and has set a target to increase the amount of content that Japan exports from 5,800 billion yen in 2023 to 20,000 billion yen by 2033. The animation market is expected to grow in the future.

Source: Anime Industry Report 2025, The Association of Japanese Animations

KADOKAWA, Toshima City, and Sunshine City have worked together with KADOKAWA Group subsidiary DWANGO Co., Ltd. and related local organizations to safely and reliably hold the “Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Festival” in the broader Ikebukuro area for many years. In Sunshine City, they have held many events and promoted KADOKAWA's animated titles. Through these diverse forms of entertainment, they have established an enduring relationship of trust.
By opening “Studio One Base” as a hub for animation production, KADOKAWA is adding a new attractive element to this district. This establishes Ikebukuro not only as an entertainment hub to “Watch, Enjoy, and Experience,” but also as a creation hub to “Create, Nurture, and Deliver” to the world.Moving forward, KADOKAWA, Toshima City, and Sunshine City Corporation will strengthen their partnership, which includes activities across a wide range of fields, such as the discovery and development of human resources and the promotion of tourism. They will develop Ikebukuro into a “World-Class Anime City” in which entertainment and creative endeavors are integrated.

Current status and strengths of each party

KADOKAWA has positioned the animation business as the core of its media mix under its “Global Media Mix with Technology” strategy. It is working to maximize the LTV (lifetime value) of its IP, producing approximately 60 titles annually (including minority investments) from a wide variety of original works, both its own and those of other companies. Additionally, the Group operates seven animation production studios and is developing an environment that enables creators to focus on their work by enhancing working conditions and strengthening recruitment and talent development structures.

Toshima City has been advancing urban development initiatives that leverage manga, anime, and its status as a mecca for the genres. The Tokiwaso apartment building in Shiinamachi was famous for being the birthplace of many manga and anime originated, as it was the home of Osamu Tezuka and other young manga artists who grew up to become masters of their craft. The Tokiwaso Manga Museum is a faithful reproduction of the building. Many visitors from Japan and around the world come to the bustling Ikebukuro neighborhood every day, which is famous as a world-class animation district that is home to Animate and many other animation-related shops.

Sunshine City is a large commercial complex that host events and other activities featuring animation and other forms of content throughout the year. It is bustling both inside and out, attracting more than 30 million visitors each year. The complex includes facilities such as event halls and an observatory, which are used as venues for exhibitions of original drawings and events that permit visitors to experience the worlds of works. In addition, the Shopping Center “alpa” and Sky Restaurants posted record-high sales of 35.9 billion yen in FY2024, exceeding the previous record high set during the bubble. This has had a significant positive impact on the venue and contributed to its establishment as one of the largest clusters of shops selling character goods and other products, as well as restaurants, through promotional measures linked to IPs and content. Again this fiscal year, sales have exceeded the previous year through January 2026, driven by strong performance from character goods shops. Sales are expected to continue growing, mainly due to ongoing shop renovation.

Outline of KADOKAWA Studio One Base

KADOKAWA will consolidate its animation production studios and establish Studio One Base.The large-scale production hub will be located in Sunshine City, Ikebukuro, and is scheduled to open in autumn 2026. By physically consolidating multiple animation production studios, KADOKAWA will ensure faster information sharing and greater operational integration. It will also create an environment that enables creators to focus on production while strengthening collaboration among studios and supporting the development of young talent. In addition, the move will further accelerate existing initiatives, including the consolidation of back-office functions.

Conceptual renders of Studio One Base

Statements from each party

Takeshi Kikuchi, Chief Studio Officer, KADOKAWA CORPORATION:

"We are very pleased to announce the opening of Studio One Base, our new production hub. Our mission is to create an environment in the animation industry where creators, the future leaders of the industry, can work with pride. By opening this new hub, we will reorganize our animation production sites and streamline studio functions to improve productivity. At the same time, we will improve the treatment of creators to build and enhance our production hub so that they can be proud of their workplace, and people will want to work in this industry. We will also continue to strengthen our partnerships with Toshima City and Sunshine City Corporation for the development of Ikebukuro into a ”World-Class Anime City”, thereby establishing the ability to create global IP."

Miyuki Takagiwa, Mayor of Toshima City:

"We warmly welcome KADOKAWA's opening of a new animation production studio. As a manga, anime and cosplay mecca, Toshima City has been promoting various initiatives focused on events. We are sure that our partnership with KADOKAWA will facilitate the development of Ikebukuro as a base for creation as well. Our collaboration in the development of young creators and the revitalization of the industry and the local community will enable us to get very close to achieving the three core values in the Toshima City Basic Concept we formulated last year: everyone has a role to play, a community where all are connected, and a city of smiles, encounters and dreams."

Hidemi Waki, President and CEO, Sunshine City Corporation:

"We are very honored that a KADOKAWA animation production studio will be a tenant of Sunshine City. At Sunshine City, we have been providing a variety of entertainment under the slogan, "Something interesting." The opening of this large-scale animation production hub will make Sunshine City a hub for the animation, adding a new attractive element to the complex. We would like to work together with Toshima City and KADOKAWA to deliver something interesting to the local community and society to further increase the renown of Toshima City and the Ikebukuro area as an anime mecca and achieve continued growth and increased value."

About each party

About KADOKAWA CORPORATION

KADOKAWA CORPORATION develops a wide range of entertainment including publication, videos, games, Web services, education, operating IP experiential facilities such as TOKOROZAWA SAKURA TOWN. By utilizing technology, KADOKAWA CORPORATION implements a global media mix strategy, focusing on stable Intellectual Property (IP) creation and delivering it to the world in a variety of forms.
https://group.kadokawa.co.jp/global/

About Toshima City

The area around Ikebukuro Station near the center of Toshima City is a cluster of commercial facilities such as office buildings, department stores and Sunshine City. Additionally, Toshima City is moving forward with urban development initiatives for the energization of the individual precincts within the city. Last year, the city developed the Toshima City Basic Concept aiming to achieve three core values: everyone has a role to play, a community where all are connected, and a city of smiles, encounters and dreams.
https://www.city.toshima.lg.jp/

About Sunshine City Corporation

The company manages and operates Sunshine City, a large commercial complex that includes many different facilities, including an aquarium, observatory, a shopping center, offices, event spaces, restaurants, a hotel, a museum, and a theater. The Sunshine City Group is working on urban development activities with the mission of leveraging its unique development capabilities to provide something interesting to the local community and society guided by its slogan, "Something interesting: turning that creativity into the power of the city."
https://co.sunshinecity.co.jp/

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Notice:
This document is a translation of the original Japanese document and is only for reference purposes. In the event of any discrepancy between this translated document and the original Japanese document, the latter shall prevail.

For Inquiries and Media Requests:
Public Relations Division, KADOKAWA CORPORATION
E-mail: pr-dept@kadokawa.jp

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