Willnext acquires Fukuoka PR firm konoki to link HR and branding
What's the deal? WillnextDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Sagamihara-based HR and organisational consultancy, has agreed to acquire all shares in konokiDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Fukuoka PR and marketing firm, making it a subsidiary. The deal was announced in October 2026; terms were undisclosed.
What does each do? Willnext supports hiring, career design, and organisational development through three services: Willnext Design, Willnext Job, and Willnext Consulting. konoki, founded in April 2021, helps mainly regional companies with executive PR, recruitment PR, website and content production, and branding.
What's the endgame? Willnext wants to support companies end to end — from building an organisation to external messaging, recruitment, and growth. It plans to combine its HR knowledge with konoki's PR and branding to carry a company's internal purpose through to articles, websites, social media, podcasts, and video.
What changes? Not much for now. CEO Kohei Jinwaki stays on to lead konoki, and the company keeps its name, brand, and existing services. The two firms will integrate gradually and also develop joint services covering executive PR, recruitment branding, and owned-media operations.
Why it fits: Both firms say they share a focus on clarifying a company's internal "intent" and turning it into language and experiences that reach the outside world. konoki "has the power to carefully find the thoughts within companies and executives and turn them into words and creative that reach society," Willnext chief executive officer Masahiro Nakamura said.
The signal: The tie-up reflects a push to merge HR and communications, particularly for regional companies facing hiring, training, and succession challenges. By pairing organisational consulting with creative and branding, Willnext is betting that recruitment and growth increasingly hinge on how clearly a company can express what it stands for.
Read more: prtimes.jp
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
