CMON Expands with Japanese Division for Games

CMON is pleased to announce an expansion of operations into Japan with the hiring of Mr. Nobuaki “Tak” Takerube and Mr. Ken Watanabe. Mr. Nobuaki Takerube is taking on the role of Director of Japanese Operations while Mr. Ken Watanabe is the new Japanese Sales Manager.

Mr. Nobuaki “Tak” Takerube has a long history in the gaming industry, being the main designer and writer of RPG Tokyo NOVA and the Cyberpunk 2020 PacRim Sourcebook and is well known for his translated editions of Catan as well as Gloomhaven into Japanese. He also works tirelessly to bring Japanese board games to a broader, worldwide market.

Mr. Ken Watanabe began his career as the CEO of GUILD Corporation in 1991 as well as working as the Japanese distributor for Whitewolf and Chaosium. In 2019, he served as an executive of the sales department at ARCLIGHT, a Japanese tabletop gaming publisher. He then went independent and is now currently the CEO of his own publishing company, FrogGames, where he contributes to the development of tabletop RPGs.

Both men will be reporting directly to David Doust at CMON.

When asked about the expansion, David Doust said, “CMON has been enjoying triple digit growth in Asia, Tak and Ken will help CMON further penetrate the Japanese market and help write CMON’s next chapter. These new appointments will help better manage our existing clients, bring more exciting products to Japan and identify suitable products for export.”

Talking about joining CMON, Mr. Takerube said, “I am looking forward to working with the incredible CMON staff and tackling new challenges and voyage to Tera Incognita of the game world.”

Speaking about his new role within CMON, Mr. Watanabe said, “I am looking forward to working with CMON and its diverse colleagues. I hope to create many opportunities to introduce magnificent Japanese tabletop games to the world. I hope you will enjoy what is to come.”

This move will help bring CMON’s games to a whole new audience in Japan, increasing the company’s market reach.