Yuji Naka arrested in Dragon Quest Tact insider trading scandal

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Yuji Naka arrested in Dragon Quest Tact insider trading scandal

Naka said to have purchased 2.8 million yen in Aiming shares ahead of game's announcement.



Yuji Naka, one of the co-creators of the Sonic the Hedgehog series, has been arrested by the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office in an insider trading scandal involving former employer Square Enix.

According to the Special Investigation Department, Naka learned in January 2020 that Square Enix, where he was then an employee, was collaborating with Caravan Stories developer Aiming to develop Dragon Quest Tact. He then allegedly purchased about 10,000 shares of Aiming for approximately 2.8 million yen before the title was announced, suspecting that the company’s stock price would rise after the announcement.

Taisuke Sasaki, another former Square Enix employee, and acquaintance Fumiaki Suzuki were also arrested yesterday on suspected insider trading. The pair are believed to be have purchased about 162,000 shares of Aiming for approximately 47.2 million yen ahead of Dragon Quest Tact‘s announcement.

Source: Gematsu

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Yuji Naka returns to X by accusing Dragon Quest producer of 'lying to court'

The Sonic co-creator is serving a 30-month suspended sentence for insider trading



Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator Yuji Naka ended a 16-month social media blackout on Sunday, by accusing top Dragon Quest producer Yu Miyake of lying as part of Naka's high-profile insider trading trial.

Last year Naka was sentenced to 30 months in prison, suspended for four years, and given two fines totalling ¥173 million ($1.2 million), after he pled guilty to buying shares based on inside information during his time working at publisher Square Enix.

Naka hadn't posted on his X account since November 2022, which was shortly before he was formerly indicted. But on Sunday he returned to comment on news that top Dragon Quest producer Miyake will reportedly be re-assigned at Square Enix.

Miyake is credited as executive officer for Naka's Square Enix title, Balan Wonderworld.

In an X post, Naka alleged that Miyake lied in court documents, presumably part of his insider trading trial.

"Finally. I was hoping he would be gone soon because he is the kind of person who would submit a note with a lie (with evidence) to a court of law. I have never met him, but the new [Square Enix] president might be a good person."



Miyake, a director of the board who joined Square Enix in 1992 and had long overseen the RPG franchise, will now lead the Japanese company's mobile games, according to Bloomberg's sources.

After his arrest in November 2022, it was claimed that Naka – who was working on Balan Wonderworld for Square Enix at the time – was made aware that Japanese developer Aiming was working on a new Dragon Quest mobile game called Dragon Quest Tact before it was officially announced.

Naka was arrested for a second time in December 2022, relating to allegations that he had carried out similar insider trading after learning confidential information that Square was planning to make Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier with mobile developer ATeam Entertainment.

Source: VGC