4. Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity and Inclusion

As a comprehensive entertainment company offering enjoyment, emotion, knowledge, and more without barriers through culture, the KADOKAWA Group believes that it should help to realize a society where no one is discriminated against.

We respect diversity, including race, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, nationality, culture, values, and more, and we do not tolerate discrimination and bias. This attitude is fundamental to all of our Group business activities, from the treatment of employees in employment, training, evaluation, promotions, and more to creating and offering content and services and in our interactions with users, creators, business partners, shareholders, locals, and all other stakeholders.

We also respect freedom of expression in content and services, but as an exception to this rule, we do not tolerate expressions that idly encourage discrimination and bias or that wrongfully infringe upon the rights of others.

The KADOKAWA Group works to create an environment and corporate culture that values human individuality and diversity based on these ideas.

Promoting Opportunities for Women

At the KADOKAWA Group, female employees account for 43.2% of the total employees. 22.7% of our managerial and executive positions are women, with 205 female section chiefs and other middle management, 81 female department heads and other senior management, and 15 female officers (as of March 31, 2023). Many women play a central role in our business. Combining KADOKAWA and its domestic consolidated subsidiaries, women accounted for 19.3% of managerial-level employees as of March 31, 2023. Our target is to raise the figure to 30% by FY2030.

At KADOKAWA, we have introduced a variety of leave systems and allowances to support the diverse working styles of all our employees. We have achieved a 100% rate of both return and retention for women who have taken childcare leave (as of March 31, 2023). We have established general action plans based on the Act on the Promotion of Female Participation and Career Advancement in the Workplace and the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children. We are working to create the foundation for female participation by setting up a pleasant environment for work. In September 2017, KADOKAWA attained Eruboshi Level 3 certification, which means the company is deemed to satisfy all five criteria. Granted by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, "Eruboshi" certification is aimed at recognizing companies that are excellently committed to women’s empowerment in workplaces. As these achievements show, we are highly regarded publicly in terms of women's empowerment.  

Number of Managers and Officers (as of March 31, 2024)

  Female Male Total
Employees Percentage Employees Percentage Employees
KADOKAWA
(parent company only)		 Middle management *1 75 27.2％ 201 72.8％ 276
Senior management *2 26 20.5％ 101 79.5％ 127
Management total 101 25.1％ 302 74.9％ 403
Officers *3 3 10.7％ 25 89.3％ 28
Total managers and officers 104 24.1％ 327 75.9％ 431
Entire KADOKAWA Group Middle management *1 226 29.5％ 539 70.5％ 765
Senior management *2 75 23.5％ 244 76.5％ 319
Management total 301 27.8％ 783 72.2％ 1,084
Officers *4 *5 14 7.7％ 167 92.3％ 181
Total managers and officers 315 24.9％ 950 75.1％ 1,265

*1 Middle management: section chiefs
*2 Senior management: department heads
*3 Board Members and Corporate Officers
*4 Total number of officers. Board Members and Corporate Officers
*5 Ten internally promoted female officers
Note: Percentages are rounded to the second decimal place and are shown to the first decimal place.

Employment of Persons with Disabilities

The KADOKAWA Group is working to create an environment where employees can work while freely demonstrating their unique abilities, regardless of disability or degree of disability. We established KADOKAWA CRAFT INC. in 2019 to develop businesses focused on the roasting and selling of coffee and business support, including editing, back-office operations, and more, as a special subsidiary company to employ persons with disabilities. In February 2024, KADOKAWA CRAFT received "Monisu system certification" which the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare awards to recognize small and medium-sized enterprises that excel in the employment of people with disabilities. As of March 2024, a total of 74 employees with disabilities, including 26 profoundly disabled persons, work for special subsidiary companies of the Group (KADOKAWA, KADOKAWA CRAFT, DWANGO Co., Ltd., KADOKAWA UPLINK INC., KADOKAWA Connected Inc. and BOOK WALKER Co.,Ltd.). They include 36 employees at KADOKAWA CRAFT, fifteen of whom are profoundly disabled.

Win Graffiti Inc. became our subsidiary in April 2024. This company operates welfare business such as the support for continuous employment project* and a chicken egg business producing and selling rare, high-quality eggs from domestic hens under the "HACONIWA FARM" brand. Going forward, the KADOKAWA Group will increase and improve its sustainable employment of people with disabilities, which makes good business sense. At the same time, we will explore many different ways for listed companies to handle the employment of people with disabilities.

*This project provides employment opportunities and training necessary for the improvement of knowledge and skills to people who encounter difficulties working in general companies or offices due to disability or illness.

  • Photo : Yuzuri Onoue

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Global Human Resources

More than 800 non-Japanese employees work for the companies of the KADOKAWA Group (as of March 31, 2024). They are active in the Group’s businesses in Japan and overseas.
In October 2021, "Global Human Resources Development Center" was established with the aim of recruiting, developing and supporting the human resources that will powerfully lead Global Media Mix, the Group’s basic policy. The Center mainly implements the following measures and supports globally active human resources and businesses.

  • A wide range of recruiting activities by providing career recruitment site multilingual support and adding global content. We increase the rate of acceptance of internships for multinational human resources.
  • Skill surveys for employees of KADOKAWA Group companies in Japan and overseas and seminars for motivating employees to participate in global business.
  • Various measures, such as personnel exchange and option for employees to serve in concurrent roles (remote-based), to develop hybrid human resources that possess both KADOKAWA-style expertise and global business skills.
  • Enhancement of various reward systems such as an incentive when employees of overseas subsidiaries pass the Japanese Language Proficiency Test and acquire the qualification that corresponds with the test level.
  • The "Temporary Remote Work Policy from Home Country" was introduced in October 2023 as part of the measures to strengthen KADOKAWA's recruitment of global human resources and retain them. The policy enables non-Japanese employees to spend a maximum of about 90 days, nearly one-third of the average number of days worked in a year, telecommuting when they return to their home country temporarily.
  • Establishing the "Global Business MVP Awards," which acknowledges excellent projects at overseas sites, to increase motivation among employees at overseas sites and give them a greater sense that they are part of the Group.
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LGBTQ+ Initiatives

KADOKAWA provides congratulation or condolence leave and wedding gift money even on such occasions as common-law marriage or marriage of a LGBTQ+ couple. An LGBTQ+ seminar titled Let’s Think About Workplace Diversity Together was held in October 2023 to increase people's understanding of LGBTQ+ issues within KADOKAWA. Many employees, including employees of KADOKAWA Group companies, attended the seminar. Respecting diversity, we will also consider and implement the expansion of the scope of the applicability of many different rules and regulations.

ESG-Related Information