Highlights
- Kadokawa acquired SOZO, bringing Anime Festival Asia (AFA) under its global ecosystem to accelerate Japanese pop culture expansion.
- The acquisition supports Kadokawa’s “Global Media-Mix with Technology” strategy, connecting publishing, anime, gaming, merchandise, and live events to build stronger IP monetization and direct fan engagement across Southeast Asia.
- SOZO will retain its existing leadership while Kadokawa leverages its infrastructure for concerts, exhibitions, merchandise shows, and IP-driven events.
Japanese conglomerate Kadokawa Corporation has acquired Singapore-based entertainment company SOZO Pte. Ltd., known for operating Anime Festival Asia (AFA), in an attempt to consolidate the convention business into its global portfolio. The strategic alliance announced on Dec 2, 2025, made Kadokawa the 80% shareholder of SOZO’s business. Under the deal, both companies aim to bring “Japanese pop culture experiences to fans across Asia,’’ combining the best of each.
After the deal, Kadokawa has gained control over the region’s largest anime convention network, at a time when demand for Japanese pop culture continues to surge. AFA has drawn nearly 3M cumulative attendees since its 2008 launch. AFA operates on a large scale, combining countries that include Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan, accelerating anime and J-culture events growth.
Kadokawa said the move strengthens its ability to expand and accelerate global IP rollout by connecting its publishing, animation, gaming, and retail divisions with SOZO's on-site event infrastructure. The company described the acquisition as a logical continuation of its long-standing “Global Media-Mix with Technology,” a model to develop and monetize an IP across multiple formats.
Vision Behind the Acquisition
The acquisition directly aligns with Kadokawa’s framework for expanding IPs across novels, manga, anime, games, merchandise, and live events. Under this strategy, the company has increasingly built different pathways for fan engagement, rather than relying solely on publishing or licensing deals.
Kadokawa Group CEO, Takeshi Natsuno, said the acquisition supports the company’s ambition to strengthen its live event and D2C businesses by “establishing a seamless system to deliver experiences from IP creation to delivery across the region.”
https://group.kadokawa.co.jp/global/information/news_release/2025120202_en.html
Events such as AFA enable a consistent fan engagement, while creating additional opportunities for IP promotion and merchandise revenue. Sozo’s operations span from event production, talent management, to promotion and merchandising activities. Integrating SOZO allows Kadokawa to link Japanese content with audience engagement across Southeast Asia, a fast-growing consumer market.
SOZO’s founder, Shawn Chin, described the acquisition as an opportunity to scale AFA’s reach while maintaining the cross-industry nature that has defined the event. He stated that the company is looking forward to working with Kadokawa and reaching greater heights.
Under Kadokawa, SOZO will operate as a consolidated subsidiary but maintain its current leadership and management structure. The deal will allow Kadokawa to use SOZO not only for AFA but also for concerts, exhibitions, merchandise shows, and new IP-driven events across Asia.
Both companies have worked together in Southeast Asia for more than 10 years, including co-hosting Niconico Chokaigi alongside AFA, and launching a creators program, Asia Creators Cross. The deal will simply improve the recognition of Japanese content IPs, increase revenue, and strengthen the entire outreach of Japanese content, including IPs owned by Kadokawa.
