Yasuda was the center of the Itagaki vs. Tecmo legal suit. Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki sued for unpaid DoA 4 wages. These were "special incentive" wages that Itagaki claimed were agreed to by the former Tecmo president and the board of directors, but the current president is claiming these "special incentive" wages were made by the former president and not approved by the Tecmo board.

As we posted last year, Itagaki left Tecmo and filed suit for unpaid bonuses. As Itagaki stated then, "President Yoshimi Yasuda chose not only to violate this agreement, but also turned defiant, telling me 'if you are dissatisfied with the decision not to pay the bonuses, either quit the company or sue it.'"

During the court proceedings, evidence was presented, such as this secret audio tape that we posted online, which contained statements by Yasuda that seemed in direct conflict with his court claim that this "special incentives" proposal was made by the former president and not approved by the Tecmo board. The recording helped support Itagaki's claim that his special incentive bonus was approved by Tecmo's former president and the board of directors, and that the Yasuda knew this, contradicting himself.

Besides this legal spat, Yasuda was embroiled in a totally separate lawsuit filed by other Tecmo employees as well - Hiroaki Ozawa and co-plaintiff Tatsuki Tsunoda. Ozawa is the Tecmo Labor Union leader and Ninja Gaiden 2 lead engineer, while Tsunoda is the Ninja Gaiden 2 level design lead. According to the suit, the workers were illegally placed on a "flexible hours" work scheme where overtime was not paid.

All that is water under the bridge, it seems. Yasuda has a new white collar executive level job. Japan's Kadokawa Group Holdings has announced a 100 percent owned subsidiary named Kadokawa Games. The president of this company? Yoshimi Yasuda. Kadokawa Games will focus on online games and the overseas market. And like that, another disgraced business exec lands on his feet.

Enterbrain, the publisher of Famitsu, is an affiliate of Kadokawa Group Holdings. Former Sony Computer Entertainment exec Ken Kutaragi is a Kadokawa Group Holdings board member as well. Just sayin'.

「角川ゲームス」設立　社長にテクモ元社長の安田善巳氏 [IT Media via my game news flash

According to Wada, there have been discussions since May with former Tecmo president Yoshimi Yasuda and Tecmo Chairman of the Board (and current president) Yasuharu Kakihara. Yasuda has recently resigned in wake of a slew of labor dispute legal trouble with Team Ninja and Dead or Alive member Tomonobu Itagaki. Wada admits that he was "concerned" what would happen regarding those discussions when Yasuda resigned.

This, said Wada, is the same as when Square and Enix merged, adding: "In entertainment, games are the equal of the film and television industry, and growth is strong. But, now the Japanese game industry isn't leading with the same vigor that it did previously... This is a worldwide battle."

As we broke earlier, the Tecmo Board of Directors has until September 4th to approve the offer. It includes offering to purchase a controlling interest in Tecmo by purchasing shares in that company at 30 percent premium (¥960 a share compared to yesterday's close price of ¥706 a share). But if Tecmo does accept the offer, what will happen to Tecmo? It will fall under a holding company umbrella, said the exec. But regarding the actual Tecmo brand, Wada stated, "To either be affiliated and losing the brand or possibly merging with Taito, that's the big difference." Square Enix acquired Taito in 2005.

Wada was keen to point out how important (and attractive) Tecmo's IPs were. Not only that, he praised the company's ability to produce top quality titles — most notably Tecmo's fighting and action games. Wada also lauded the company's success abroad. The Square Enix exec pointed out that talented teams are needed to make games. "While it looks like the games are made by a single, talented genius, games are made by teams," said Wada. When asked about the Itagaki labor dispute, Wada replied: "I don't know anything of the concrete details of this particular case."

"I can only believe that our proposal will be accepted," stated Wada. "I hope."

和田氏「TOBはこれから。目的はグループとして一緒にやっていくこと」 [Game Watch Impress]

Yasuda has been at the center of the Itagaki vs. Tecmo legal suit. Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki is suing for unpaid DoA 4 wages. These were "special incentive" wages that Itagaki claims were agreed to by the former Tecmo president and the board of directors, but the current president is claiming these "special incentive" wages were made single-handedly by the former president and not approved by the Tecmo board.

As we posted earlier, Itagaki left Tecmo and filed suit for unpaid bonuses. As Itagaki stated then, "President Yoshimi Yasuda chose not only to violate this agreement, but also turned defiant, telling me 'if you are dissatisfied with the decision not to pay the bonuses, either quit the company or sue it.'"

During the court proceedings, evidence was presented, such as this secret audio tape that we broke, which contained statements by Yasuda that seemed in direct conflict with his court claim that this "special incentives" proposal was made single-handedly by the former president and not approved by the Tecmo board. The recording helps support Itagaki's claim that his special incentive bonus was approved by Tecmo's former president and the board of directors, and that the current president knows this, contradicting himself.

Besides this, Yasuda was embroiled in a totally separate lawsuit filed by other Tecmo employees as well — Hiroaki Ozawa and co-plaintiff Tatsuki Tsunoda. Ozawa is the Tecmo Labor Union leader and Ninja Gaiden 2 lead engineer, while Tsunoda is the Ninja Gaiden 2 level design lead. According to the suit, the workers were illegally placed on a "flexible hours" work scheme where overtime was not paid.

Because of this dubious employment structure, overtime for the employees exceeded over 100 hours per month in unpaid overtime. The evidence the plaintiffs submitted in their suit seems to indicate that Yoshimi Yasuda falsified contracts relating to overtime work, illegally withholding payment of wages to 300 employees over the course of the past 2 years. Despite Yasuda’s direct involvement with this deception, he attempted to shift responsibility by claiming that this was the fault of the founder and former chairman of Tecmo, now deceased, stating he was told not to hold an election and just pick someone to head the Tecmo Labor Union.

Sounds like Kakihara has a lot of work ahead of him starting September 1st. Official press release below:

代表取締役の異動に関するお知らせ

当社は、平成20年８月20日開催の取締役会において、下記の通り代表取締役の異動について内定いたしましたのでお知らせいたします。

記

１．異動内容
新役職名 氏 名 旧役職名
代表取締役会長兼社長 柿原 康晴 代表取締役会長
辞任 安田 善巳 代表取締役社長

（２）異動の理由
本日開催の取締役会において、安田代表取締役社長より、一身上の都合により代表取締役
社長並びに取締役を辞任したい旨の申し出があり、取締役会はこれを受理いたしました。

（３）異動予定日
平成20年９月１日

（４）新任代表取締役会長兼社長の氏名、略歴
新役職名 代表取締役会長兼社長
氏 名 柿原 康晴（かきはら やすはる）
生年月日 昭和45年12月30日（38歳）
出 身 地 千葉県
略 歴 平成元年３月 渋谷教育学園幕張高等学校卒業
平成11年３月 獨協医科大学卒業
平成11年５月 獨協医科大学附属病院第２外科 臨床研修医として勤務
平成12年10月 （財）癌研究会附属病院勤務臨床研修医として勤務
平成13年５月 獨協医科大学附属病院第２外科勤務
平成13年６月 当社監査役に就任
平成16年６月 当社取締役に就任
平成18年３月 当社取締役退任
平成18年３月 テクモウェーブ株式会社取締役に就任（現任）
平成18年10月 当社経営委員会委員長に就任
平成19年３月 当社代表取締役会長（現任）

以 上