Yuji Naka admits to insider trading in first day on trial
It's been a rough few years for Sonic the Hedgehog creator Yuji Naka, and his arrest late last year was certainly no exception. It revolved around accusations of him trading Square Enix stock (where he was employed at the time) before they announced their collaborations with Aiming Inc. (Dragon Quest Tact) and ATeam (Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier) so that he could reap the rewards of high share prices. Today, Yuji Naka attended his first day in court in Japan's Tokyo District Court.
During the trial, he pleaded guilty to violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, saying, "I was appointed as a senior manager because of my achievements in developing world-famous games as a game programmer at another major game maker. I accessed a website that posted about 'Dragon Quest' and found out about the joint development of new works in the 'Final Fantasy series', so I bought a total of 130,000 shares and earned a gain of over 20 million yen on sale."
Sources: NHK / TBS DIG