Takaaki Kidani

Takaaki Kidani, 2011.

Takaaki Kidani ( 木谷 高明 Kidani Takaaki , born June 6, 1960 in Kanazawa , Ishikawa Prefecture ) is a Japanese businessman . He is the founder of the multimedia group Bushiroad and was chairman of New Japan Pro-Wrestling , which has been part of Bushiroad since 2012.

Life

After graduating from Musashi University with a degree in economics, Kidani worked for Yamaichi Securities until 1994 . On March 25th of the same year he founded the start-up company Broccoli , which was initially a pure event management company. Between 1994 and 1998 he expanded this offer with Comic Castle for Dōjinshi . In 1996 he opened the Gamers business chain , which focused on anime and video games and was later listed in the now- defunct Jasdaq Shōken Torihikijo .

In May 2007 he founded the Bushiroad group , which initially focused on the development and publication of card games . The name is an allusion to the multimedia project Neppu Kairiku Bushi Road , which Kidani tried unsuccessfully to make as a film when he was still with Broccoli. Kidani took up the project again in 2013. Bushiroad was later to start several multimedia projects, especially known in Japan, including Tantei Opera Milky Holmes and BanG Dream! .

In 2017, Kidani stepped down as the company's representative director and became part of the company's board of directors .

In 2014, 2015 and 2017 Kidani was named Promoter of the Year by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ５ 億 円！ 新 日 オ ー ナ ー 会 社 電 撃 交代. Nikkan Sports , February 1, 2012, accessed July 12, 2020 (Japanese). 
2. ↑ Kidani, Takaaki. Interview. BanG Dream! Interview with Bushiroad's Takaaki Kidani - The Path and Future of BanG Dream! Project . May 19, 2019. July 12, 2020.
3. ↑ 代表 木谷 の 代表 取締 役 退 任 に つ い て. In: Bushiroad . October 2, 2017, accessed July 12, 2020 (Japanese). 
4. ↑ Dave Meltzer: Jan. 26, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2014 awards issue w / results & Dave's commentary, Conor McGregor, and much more. (No longer available online.) Wrestling Observer Newsletter , January 26, 2015, p. 33 , archived from the original on February 15, 2015 ; accessed on July 12, 2020 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.