Earlier this week, publisher Shogakukan announced that it had acquired all of the outstanding shares of Japanese pop culture site Tokyo Otaku Mode.
According to Animation Business Journal, Tokyo Otaku Mode will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shogakukan.
Shogakukan’s president and CEO, Nobuhiro Ooga, will assume the position of chairman of Tokyo Otaku Mode’s board of directors. Current CEO Kodaka Naomitsu and executive vice-president Ataka Hajime will stay on, while two Shogakukan staff will join as board member and auditor.
Shogakukan’s press release makes note of Tokyo Otaku Mode’s communicative abilities, network, and international e-commerce know-how. The acquisition was made as it was deemed that the latter’s capabilities could enable the further expansion of the overseas operations of “not only Shogakukan, but the entire Japanese content industry.”
Beginning in 2011 as a Facebook page, Tokyo Otaku Mode disseminates content related to Japanese pop culture online and sells products like figures, apparel, manga, art books, and more via its online Tokyo Otaku Mode Shop. According to its profile, it “strives to be the fastest source for delivering world-famous Japanese pop culture content around the globe” and to “support top creators in expanding overseas.”
Tokyo Otaku Mode was recognized with the Japan Startup Award in 2013 and received 15 billion yen (~US$10 million) in funding from Cool Japan in 2014. The company began to involve itself with blockchain technology in 2017, announcing the launch of the Otaku Coin cryptocurrency that year. In 2022, it was announced that Tokyo Otaku Mode was collaborating with other parties on an anime project based on the CryptoNinja NFT; the anime premiered in October 2023.
Sources: Press release, Animation Business Journal
