Bushiroad announced that it has appointed the company's founder Takaaki Kidani as chairperson.
The news was first reported by Alex Mateo of Anime News Network. He will return to his former position as a representative director alongside the company's president Yoshitaka Hashimoto.
Kidani founded Bushiroad in 2007 but stepped down from the representative director position at a stockholder's meeting in October 2017, to take a position as a board member of the company so he could directly lead and manage the production of content better. Kidani was focused on and directly responsible for developing the company's intellectual property.
Bushiroad stated that the reasons for this change were the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe's declaration of Japan's state of emergency, and the postponements and cancellations of the company's live events. By having two representative directors, Bushiroad aims to strengthen top management and promote further growth and enterprise value.
Bushiroad is the parent company of New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Stardom. Both companies have started running live events again with limited or no crowds. Talent in each company has taken an anti-body test and protocols have been been in place to protect fans and talent.
