Mr. Tako

Mr. Tako (多胡部長, Tako buchō, lit. Director Tako) is a major character who appears in King Kong vs. Godzilla, portrayed by the comic actor Ichiro Arishima. The head of the advertising department of the Pacific Pharmaceuticals company, he is perhaps the individual most responsible for the entire King Kong incident that unfolded in the early sixties.

His name is a play on words that pays off as a joke late in the first act of the film, where Furue at first confuses him with the Giant Octopus, as the Japanese word for octopus (蛸, Tako) is of course pronounced identically.

History
While watching the Wonderful World Series, a science program his company invested advertising in, Tako is bored with the show and realizes it isn't worth sponsoring, as the program only draws the attention of about 5% of the national viewer count. He consults with his assistant Obayashi on the matter before his unseen superior, over the phone, shares an identical opinion on the situation. He later speaks with company botanist Dr. Makioka alongside TTV employees Osamu Sakurai and Furue Kinsaburo. During the meeting, after hearing the doctor's report on his voyage and rumors of "giant monster god" living on one of the Solomon Islands, Tako hits upon the idea of using the supposed giant creature in a marketing campaign against the bigger corporations to bring back business to Pacific Pharmaceuticals, as well as the subject of a TTV funded expedition program, and appoints Sakurai and Furue to the project.

Trivia

 * His full name is given as Yoshio Tako by Yutaka Omura in the U.S. version.