Yuji Naka Has Officially Been Sentenced to Four Years Probation For Insider Trading

Yuji Naka has been officially found guilty of insider trading and has received a suspended sentence of four years of probation in addition to two fines of ¥170 million and ¥2 million.

A “suspended sentence” means that Yuji Naka must strictly follow the law over the probation period and comply with the sentenced fines or he will be placed in prison for two years and six months which was his original conviction in line with the prosecution demands.

The co-creator of Sonic was charged last year with Insider Trading, investing stocks in the developers of recent Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest mobile spin-off titles before they were announced to the public, giving him an unfair advantage over ordinary investors who would have access to such information.

In a previous trial in March of 2023, Naka pleaded guilty to both accounts of insider trading. Former Square Enix employees Taisuke Sasaki, and Fumiaki Suzuki, were also arrested for Insider Trading alongside Naka.

Yuji Naka is well known as the co-creator of Sonic The Hedgehog alongside Naoto Oshima (whose studio Arzest is currently developing Sonic Superstars). Other games he has worked on include Nights: Into Dreams, Phantasy Star, and Balan Wonderworld which he was developing at Square Enix where he committed the insider trading he is currently being convicted for.

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