Sonic the Hedgehog Co-Creator Found Guilty of Insider Trading

Yuji Naka, one of the co-creators of Sonic the Hedgehog, has been determined to be guilty of insider trading by the Tokyo District Court in Japan.

The Tokyo District Court stated that Naka violated Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Act by purchasing shares based on insider information, according to a report from Japanese news agency Jiji Press.

The judge who presided over the case levied two fines totaling ¥173 million ($1.2 million), an extremely significant penalty. In addition to the fine, Naka could potentially face jail time. The judge sentenced Naka to 30 months in prison, with the sentence suspended for four years. Therefore, as long as Naka adheres to the conditions outlined in the order and refrains from committing any further offenses, he can avoid serving time in prison.

In June, Naka was previously found guilty, but his defense team argued for a suspended sentence, claiming that their client had inadvertently come across unrelated information during the course of his work. This argument was ultimately successful, resulting in his sentence being suspended.

Naka’s initial arrest occurred in November 2022 while he was working on Balan Wonderworld for Square Enix. During this time, Naka learned about Dragon Quest Tact, a new mobile game being developed by Aiming. Naka allegedly purchased approximately 10,000 shares of Aiming stock for an estimated amount of ¥2.8 million ($20,000) with the intention of selling them once the upcoming mobile game was officially announced and the stock value increased.

Following this, Naka was arrested for a second time in December 2022 for committing a similar offense of insider trading. This time, he had obtained information about Square Enix’s plans to collaborate with mobile developer ATeam Entertainment on a game called Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier. Reports indicate that Naka accessed materials and minutes from investment meetings and proceeded to purchase 130,000 shares, earning a profit of over ¥20 million ($146,000) when he sold them.

In March, Naka pleaded guilty to the charges, stating that there was “no doubt” he participated in the insider trading scheme. It was reported that he displayed “no remorse” during the proceedings (via Abema Times).

Yuji Naka is primarily known for his significant contributions to the Sonic The Hedgehog series, which has produced numerous titles such as Sonic Frontiers and Sonic Superstars. Fans interested in exploring the best Sonic games can check out these titles.