The Japanese pachinko king taking a bet on Hong Kong justice
Almost a year ago, billionaire Kazuo Okada was ousted from his company by his own son. Now, fresh from a legal triumph against Wynn Resorts, he is looking to take back control of his gaming empire
A family feud worthy of a Shakespearean drama is being played out in Hong Kong’s courts, where one of Japan’s wealthiest men has enlisted the help of his daughter in a legal battle against his son.
It’s quite a dilemma for Kazuo Okada, a self-made, septuagenarian billionaire who created a gaming empire through pachinko – a Japanese arcade game that resembles a vertical pinball machine. Now Okada, the 18th richest in Japan according to Forbes magazine and worth nearly US$3 billion, is locked in a host of legal disputes in Hong Kong.
Coming from a culture where filial piety is imperative, Okada was nonetheless ousted last year by his son from the Tokyo-based conglomerate, Universal Entertainment Corporation, which he founded almost five decades ago.
His struggle to wrest back control of his empire is now being played out in Hong Kong, where he is grappling to regain the directorship of a holding company from which he was also kicked out by his son. The Hong Kong firm, essentially a family company, holds the Okadas’ shares in the Tokyo-listed giant.
Sitting at his solicitors’ firm in Central, he speaks with a soft tone, occasionally smiling during a rare interview – a contrast to the seriousness conveyed by his grey Japanese-cut blazer and slicked-back hairstyle.