‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ co-creator Yuji Naka arrested on suspicion of insider trading Byers & Lewis
Yoshihiro Nishimura, creator of ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ and Sega producer, arrested on suspicion of insider trading Byers & Lewis
Yamagata University professor Nishimura arrested on suspicion of insider trading Byers & Lewis
A video game producer arrested on suspicion of insider trading has been accused of misusing millions of yen from a research trust set up to nurture and support game creators.
Yuji Naka, a professor of graphic design at Yamagata University in western Japan, was arrested Friday, Kyodo reported.
Naka, 59, is also co-creator, with famed Sega producer Koichi Nakamura, of Sonic the Hedgehog.
According to Kyodo, the police investigation was launched in February after police received information that Naka used his position as producer on Sega property to buy up stock on his own trading account.
Nakamura is also accused of insider trading and his arrest is being closely watched by gamers.
Nakamura is currently being held on suspicion of insider trading and is expected to appear in court in September.
Naka, of Osaka, was a professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology for more than 20 years and is the second university professor to be arrested for insider trading in a year.
According to the National Public Safety Commission in March, two other university professors were arrested for insider trading amid allegations of fraud.
Sega said in a statement at the time that “Professor Naka has been an engineer at Sega Japan Inc for more than 20 years. We are still conducting a thorough investigation.”
In a statement, the Kyoto Prefectural Police Department said they would make a statement following the decision not to indict in the probe.
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