‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ co-creator Yuji Naka arrested on suspicion of insider trading
Naka, also the creator of Sonic, is being held at the Tokyo District Court in hopes of persuading the court to dismiss the insider trading charges against him.
According to the Tokyo District Court, Naka, 58, will be held on suspicion of insider trading in stocks in which he had an interest at the time of his arrest.
Naka, best known as the original designer of Sonic the Hedgehog, had been suspected of insider trading since mid-January.
At the time, it was revealed by police that Naka purchased a home in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, in January, around the time he was due to be married.
The Tokyo case dates back to late November, when the Tokyo High Court made a ruling, after being asked to look into the case by the Tokyo District Court, that Naka had been arrested because he was suspected of insider trading.
Since then, Naka has been held for more than eight hours at a detention center in Tokyo while a court hearing took place last week. While Naka was arrested, at least seven other people were involved in the case.
A spokesperson for Naka’s company, Nippon Ichi Software Co, said last week they would respond to news that Naka had been arrested. An official Nippon Ichi statement came out less than two hours after Naka’s arrest was made public.
“We will not comment on the matter,” the statement said. “However, we will support and defend our founder, Yuji Naka.
“We do not consider this to be the case of insider trading. This is an internal dispute among our team, and we will not discuss it.”
In November, Naka reportedly purchased a home in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, on the advice of a friend. The home was reportedly worth ¥5.5 million at the time, and Naka told his friend that he would be selling it for two million yen to fund his proposed wedding.
Naka’s friend eventually went to the High Court, which asked Tokyo