KADOKAWA ANNUAL REPORT 2003

In September 1982, Weekly The Television was launched as Kadokawa Shoten Publishing’s first weekly magazine. Today, two decades later, it is still one of the leading TV information magazines in Japan. Its sister magazine, Monthly The Television, with a circulation of over one million copies, also has a strong market position. Moreover, BS & CS The Television, which is positioned to play a leading role in our lineup in the years to come, is steadily increasing its readership. The Walker series, another stalwart of our magazine lineup, has a strong position in eight regions throughout Japan, thanks to overwhelming support from younger readership groups. This all adds up to a powerful stable of titles—content that can be used beyond the print media field. Capitalizing on the potential of this content, we are adapting it for distribution on various platforms, including the Internet, mobile phones and PDAs. The advent of digital technology, of course, is making all this possible, and demand is increasing.
  SS Communications also boasts a diverse lineup of magazine titles. Its flagship publication is Lettuce Club, a lifestyle information magazine for young women featuring articles on such topics as cooking, shopping, homemaking and money matters. Money Japan and Money Plus, magazines featuring information on shares, securities, investment trusts and other financial topics, are two other important periodicals published by SS Communications. This subsidiary’s magazine lineup is augmented by a diverse series of popular mooks about cooking, lifestyles and hobbies. In April 2003, SS Communications broadened its lineup with the launch of SESAME, a bi-monthly magazine offering information on children’s fashion and lifestyles. Plans are also in hand to start publishing a monthly magazine called Mainichi ga Hakken in January 2004. This magazine will be targeted at senior citizens.
  Another subsidiary, Media Works, is active in a broad range of fields. It is already well known for its Dengeki series of video game software-related magazines. It is also involved in the merchandising of novels, comics, home video games, TV cartoons, hobby products and character goods. In the video game software-related field, Media Works boasts a large fan base as one of the sector’s foremost specialist publishers.
  The addition of SS Communications and Media Works to the Kadokawa Group in recent years means that it can now offer a wider selection of magazines spanning most genres. To cover genres presently absent from its stable, the Kadokawa Group will look at conducting M&As and setting up incubation businesses to run new magazine titles.