Haruki Kadokawa

is a Japanese entrepreneur and filmmaker. He is the son of Genyoshi Kadokawa, the founder of the publishing company Kadokawa Shoten. He took over as president of the company in 1975 after his father's death. He entered the film industry as a producer and introduced a technique called media mix, which involved mass promotion and talent scouting for new artists in publishing, film, and television. In 1993, he was arrested for drug smuggling. He resigned as president of Kadokawa Shoten, founding Kadokawa Haruki Corporation instead.

Early life Haruki's father was Genyoshi Kadokawa, the founder of Japanese publishing house Kadokawa Shoten. After graduating from high school, Haruki was accepted into the literature department of Waseda University. However, with his father's influence, he was enrolled in Kokugakuin University instead. Haruki graduated in 1964 with a degree in literature and joined his father's company the next year.

Career with Kadokawa Shoten Upon Genyoshi's death in 1975, Haruki took over as the company's president. He quickly turned the publisher's direction, changing the company that had previously been known for its serious literary and educational works into creators of popular fiction.

Kadokawa soon also branched out into the film business. His goal was to try to reap synergy benefits by creating film adaptations of the publishing house's most popular books and marketing them simultaneously. The company's first film was the 1976 release The Inugamis, directed by Kon Ichikawa and adopted from a Kadokawa Shoten published novel written by Seishi Yokomizo. Due to an aggressive marketing campaign, the film ended as the second-largest earner of the year in Japan.

Between 1976 and 1993, Kadokawa produced close to 60 films. His company's pictures were usually large-scale epics with sizable budgets and matching advertising campaigns, aimed for mass audiences and box-office success. While critics weren't always kind on Kadokawa's works, the films were consistently popular among the viewing public. By 1992, 7 out of top 20 all-time highest box-office grossing Japanese films were Kadokawa's productions.

Kadokawa also worked as a screenwriter and a director. He made his directorial debut in 1982 with the film The Last Hero. His most notable work was the 1990 film Heaven and Earth, whose budget of over 5 billion yen was the largest ever for a Japanese film at the time.

Arrest In 1993, Kadokawa was accused of instructing photographer Takeshi Ikeda, a close aide, to smuggle cocaine from the United States on several occasions. While Kadokawa continued to argue his innocence throughout the ordeal, in September 1994 he was convicted and handed a four-year prison sentence, of which he ended up serving two and a half years. Kadokawa himself was forced to resign from Kadokawa Shoten.

Later career In 1995, Kadokawa started the Kadokawa Haruki Corporation and continued in the publishing business by purchasing the teen magazine Popteen from his old company Kadokawa Shoten. In 2005, after more than a decade away from the business, Kadokawa returned to producing films with the World War II epic Yamato. In 1997, he directed Toki o Kakeru Shōjo. He has since worked as an executive producer on Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea and a remake of Akira Kurosawa's Sanjuro in 2007.

Other ventures Throughout his career Kadokawa has earned a reputation for flamboyancy, not all of which stems from his large scale films and their advertising campaigns. In 1974, he built his own Shinto shrine and conducted monthly rituals there. In 1991, Kadokawa finished building a full-size replica of Christopher Columbus' flagship Santa Maria, which sailed from Barcelona to Japan, with Kadokawa initially at the helm.