Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator Yuji Naka faces prison time following his 2022 arrest for insider trading at Square Enix. According to the Abema Times, Naka was charged with two and a half years in prison alongside a ¥2.5 million yen ($17,800 USD) fine and a ¥170 million ($1.21 million USD) supplementary penalty.
The prosecutor’s office claimed that Naka “showed no remorse” for his actions. While Naka’s defense has called for his fine to be reduced and his sentence to be suspended, the final decision is set for July 7.
Naka was first arrested in November 2022 for suspected insider trading at Square Enix, after learning of new Dragon Quest mobile game before it was officially announced and buying ¥2.8 million yen ($20,000 USD) worth of stock of its developer studio Aiming. He was arrested again in December 2022 due to more allegations of him insider trading, this time after learning of confidential information about the then unannounced Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier’s development studio ATeam Entertainment.
Naka pleaded guilty to the charges of violating Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Act in March, saying that “…There is no doubt that I found out about the games before they were made public and bought shares in them.”