Studio Ghibli is getting a leadership change, but fans probably don’t need to panic-buy Totoro merch just yet.
The legendary Japanese animation studio announced on its official website that Hiroyuki Fukuda, its current President and CEO, will step down on June 22, 2026. The move will happen after the company’s shareholders’ meeting on the same day.
Fukuda, 64, has only been in the role since 2023, but that timing is important. He is also the President and Representative Director of Nippon Television Holdings, the major Japanese broadcaster that acquired Studio Ghibli in 2023. So his time as Ghibli’s CEO has been closely tied to the post-acquisition era.
Taking over from him is 51-year-old Kenichi Yoda, another figure connected to both Studio Ghibli and Nippon Television. Yoda became a Director at Studio Ghibli in October 2023 and is also part of Nippon Television’s content strategy and business divisions.
For Malaysian and SEA anime fans, the interesting part is not just the CEO swap. It’s what Yoda has been working on.
According to Ghibli, Yoda has been heavily involved in the studio’s broader multimedia projects over the past few years. That includes art exhibitions, concerts featuring Ghibli film music, and stage adaptations based on the studio’s famous movies. In other words, he is not just a boardroom guy looking at spreadsheets. His work is already connected to the kind of real-world fan experiences that anime audiences love.
That matters because Ghibli’s appeal in Malaysia has always been bigger than just “old classic anime.” Films like Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and Howl’s Moving Castle still hit different for multiple generations here. You see the merch, the cinema re-runs, the café references, the lo-fi playlists, the whole vibe. If Ghibli and Nippon TV push harder into exhibitions, concerts, and stage productions, SEA fans will definitely be watching to see whether any of that energy eventually travels beyond Japan.
One recent example is a Kabuki adaptation of Princess Mononoke, which has been announced for a Tokyo run from July 3 to August 23, 2026. Kabuki is a traditional Japanese stage performance style with a history of roughly 420 years, so turning a Ghibli film into that format is a pretty wild crossover — old-school Japanese theatre meets one of anime’s most iconic fantasy worlds.
Ghibli has said there are no other directorial changes planned. Fukuda is also not leaving the company entirely, as he will remain on Studio Ghibli’s board of directors.
In its statement, Ghibli said Yoda’s experience with concerts, exhibitions, and stage performances at Nippon Television will help the studio explore closer collaborations between both companies. The studio also said it plans to continue its creative activities as before.
So for now, this looks less like a dramatic shake-up and more like Ghibli leaning into a future where its films live beyond the screen — through events, music, theatre, and maybe more fan-facing projects. For SEA fans, especially those who have been waiting for more official Ghibli experiences in the region, this is one leadership change worth keeping an eye on.
Source: Dexerto Anime