And the day has arrived!
Just about the time I arrived at the courthouse in the morning, the latest ever "first snow of the season" was observed in central Tokyo.
The snow had nothing to do with the outcome, but judgment time arrived after a couple of hours, and it was not much of a surprise that Horiemon was sentenced to prison without suspension.
Covering the judgment LIVE from the courthouse... Speaking in front of the television camera live is such a stressful task, and after today, I'm really starting to dream of a life without such worries...
he was still "lively" at this point! (photo from Jiji)
そしてその日が来た１
朝、裁判所に着いた頃に、都心では観測史上最も遅い「初雪」が観測された。
結果に雪は全く関係なかったが、数時間後に判決の時が来て、ホリエモンが実刑に処せられたのはそれほど驚くことではなかった。
裁判所から判決を生中継して…。生でテレビでしゃべるのは本当にストレスがたまる仕事で、今日をもって、マジにそんな心配をしなくても良い人生を夢見るようになってきた…。
写真：この時点ではまだ「生き生き」としていたのに！（写真は時事）
（以下、共同の記事：和訳は略）
Article from Kyodo...
◆Livedoor founder Horie given 2 1/2-year prison term
TOKYO, March 16 KYODO
Takafumi Horie, Livedoor Co. group founder and one of Japan's most high profile entrepreneurs, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison without suspension Friday for involvement in accounting fraud and other securities law breaches.
The Tokyo District Court ruled that Horie, 34, once seen as an iconic leader of a more freewheeling style of capitalism in Japan, played ''a primary role'' in the crimes.
Presiding Judge Toshiyuki Kosaka said in handing down the ruling, ''(Horie) bears grave responsibility for deceiving investors, though the value of the accounting fraud was not great, but he has never indicated remorse'' for what he has done.
The ruling came somewhat as a surprise as it is rare for a court in Japan to give a prison term without any suspension to a defendant charged only with Securities and Exchange Law violations.
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office demanded in December a four-year prison term.
Horie immediately appealed the ruling by the district court, according to his lawyer. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges, saying he had been framed by prosecutors.
Horie, who had been released on bail of 300 million yen, was held in custody right after the ruling but was released on bail of 500 million yen after his lawyers applied for a second bail with the court. Horie paid the balance of 200 million yen immediately in cash, as he had already paid the 300 million yen at the time of the first bail.
''It's regrettable that our claim was not accepted. I will do my best in my appeal trial,'' the former Livedoor president said in a statement released Friday night.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, asked for a comment on the high-profile case by reporters, only said at his official residence, ''I'd like to refrain from stating my opinion about any court ruling.''
As for his Liberal Democratic Party's support for Horie when he was running for a Diet seat in 2005, the premier said the party could never imagine at the time that the young entrepreneur would later be involved in a criminal case.
The district court ruled that Horie conspired with other Livedoor group executives and padded the group's pretax balance by reporting some 5 billion yen in profit for the year through September 2004 when it should have stated a 300 million yen loss.
Livedoor set up dummy investment partnerships and inappropriately posted own-stock sales profits of 3.7 billion yen, and also booked 1.6 billion yen in profits from false business transactions by two companies it had planned to buy, the ruling said.
Kosaka said in the reason for the ruling, that the testimony of Ryoji Miyauchi, Livedoor's former chief financial officer and Horie's right-hand man, who said Horie was aware of any wrongdoing and that conspiracy existed among Horie and four other executives, was ''credible'' as it coincided with the testimony of Fumito Kumagai, former managing director of Livedoor, and material evidence such as e-mail messages.
The court decided that Horie had played primary roles in setting up the investment partnerships which were ''established for the purpose of evading the law'' and such posting of profit ''is impermissible.''
The court also ruled that Horie instructed the booking of fictitious profits and approved other crimes through reporting by Miyauchi and other executives as Horie ''controlled the Livedoor group and had an overwhelming power over it.''
But it ran short of concluding that Horie played a leading role in every incident as prosecutors claimed, except for the booking of fictitious profits on earnings reports.
The court battle, which began last September, drew both domestic and overseas attention.
Horie's defense team has argued the investment partnerships were acting independently and the former executives handled the profits appropriately, while accusing prosecutors of ''cooking up a story,'' saying there was no involvement by Horie.
In a recent interview with Kyodo News, Horie also said the case was devised by ''case-greedy'' prosecutors and people whose companies were acquired by the Livedoor group.
At the court Friday, Horie repeatedly blinked when the ruling was handed down. He had a look of discontent as he went through the summary of the ruling.
Kosaka gave an admonition to Horie after handing down the ruling, citing a letter the court had received from a mother who has a handicapped child.
Kosaka said that in the letter the mother said her child was encouraged by the life of Horie, a self-made millionaire, and told Horie, ''I gave you a guilty verdict but do not mean to deny all of the way of your living. I want you to make the best of your ability and make a fresh start after expiating your crime.''
The four other former Livedoor executives are also standing trial on charges of violating the law but Horie is the only one to flatly deny the charges.
Miyauchi admitted to the charges against him, staging a dramatic showdown by testifying against his former boss in court.
The court will hand down its rulings on Miyauchi and others next Thursday and Livedoor as a company next Friday.
Horie, who founded Livedoor as Livin' on the Edge Inc. in 1996, has become a household name in Japan with his bold challenges and remarks to Japan's business old guard.
He drew both applause and flak for his aggressive business tactics such as a hostile takeover bid in 2005 for one of Japan's largest media groups.
Until his arrest in January last year, Horie was touted by some as a new type of business leader who could change Japan's clubby corporate culture.
Livedoor, which once controlled about 50 group companies, has been in reconstruction efforts under the new management.
Livedoor released a statement after the ruling, saying it ''takes the ruling seriously and we, under new leadership, will continuously make efforts to press for compliance and strengthen our inner management system.''
Current and former Livedoor shareholders have been filing damages suits against the company, claiming they suffered losses as its stock price plunged after prosecutors raided its office in January last year.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange delisted Livedoor last April from its Mothers market for start-up companies.
The number of Livedoor shareholders once peaked at 220,000.
==Kyodo
そしてその日が来た１
朝、裁判所に着いた頃に、都心では観測史上最も遅い「初雪」が観測された。
結果に雪は全く関係なかったが、数時間後に判決の時が来て、ホリエモンが実刑に処せられたのはそれほど驚くことではなかった。
裁判所から判決を生中継して…。生でテレビでしゃべるのは本当にストレスがたまる仕事で、今日をもって、マジにそんな心配をしなくても良い人生を夢見るようになってきた…。
写真：この時点ではまだ「生き生き」としていたのに！（写真は時事）
（以下、共同の記事：和訳は略）
Article from Kyodo...
◆Livedoor founder Horie given 2 1/2-year prison term
TOKYO, March 16 KYODO
Takafumi Horie, Livedoor Co. group founder and one of Japan's most high profile entrepreneurs, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison without suspension Friday for involvement in accounting fraud and other securities law breaches.
The Tokyo District Court ruled that Horie, 34, once seen as an iconic leader of a more freewheeling style of capitalism in Japan, played ''a primary role'' in the crimes.
Presiding Judge Toshiyuki Kosaka said in handing down the ruling, ''(Horie) bears grave responsibility for deceiving investors, though the value of the accounting fraud was not great, but he has never indicated remorse'' for what he has done.
The ruling came somewhat as a surprise as it is rare for a court in Japan to give a prison term without any suspension to a defendant charged only with Securities and Exchange Law violations.
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office demanded in December a four-year prison term.
Horie immediately appealed the ruling by the district court, according to his lawyer. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges, saying he had been framed by prosecutors.
Horie, who had been released on bail of 300 million yen, was held in custody right after the ruling but was released on bail of 500 million yen after his lawyers applied for a second bail with the court. Horie paid the balance of 200 million yen immediately in cash, as he had already paid the 300 million yen at the time of the first bail.
''It's regrettable that our claim was not accepted. I will do my best in my appeal trial,'' the former Livedoor president said in a statement released Friday night.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, asked for a comment on the high-profile case by reporters, only said at his official residence, ''I'd like to refrain from stating my opinion about any court ruling.''
As for his Liberal Democratic Party's support for Horie when he was running for a Diet seat in 2005, the premier said the party could never imagine at the time that the young entrepreneur would later be involved in a criminal case.
The district court ruled that Horie conspired with other Livedoor group executives and padded the group's pretax balance by reporting some 5 billion yen in profit for the year through September 2004 when it should have stated a 300 million yen loss.
Livedoor set up dummy investment partnerships and inappropriately posted own-stock sales profits of 3.7 billion yen, and also booked 1.6 billion yen in profits from false business transactions by two companies it had planned to buy, the ruling said.
Kosaka said in the reason for the ruling, that the testimony of Ryoji Miyauchi, Livedoor's former chief financial officer and Horie's right-hand man, who said Horie was aware of any wrongdoing and that conspiracy existed among Horie and four other executives, was ''credible'' as it coincided with the testimony of Fumito Kumagai, former managing director of Livedoor, and material evidence such as e-mail messages.
The court decided that Horie had played primary roles in setting up the investment partnerships which were ''established for the purpose of evading the law'' and such posting of profit ''is impermissible.''
The court also ruled that Horie instructed the booking of fictitious profits and approved other crimes through reporting by Miyauchi and other executives as Horie ''controlled the Livedoor group and had an overwhelming power over it.''
But it ran short of concluding that Horie played a leading role in every incident as prosecutors claimed, except for the booking of fictitious profits on earnings reports.
The court battle, which began last September, drew both domestic and overseas attention.
Horie's defense team has argued the investment partnerships were acting independently and the former executives handled the profits appropriately, while accusing prosecutors of ''cooking up a story,'' saying there was no involvement by Horie.
In a recent interview with Kyodo News, Horie also said the case was devised by ''case-greedy'' prosecutors and people whose companies were acquired by the Livedoor group.
At the court Friday, Horie repeatedly blinked when the ruling was handed down. He had a look of discontent as he went through the summary of the ruling.
Kosaka gave an admonition to Horie after handing down the ruling, citing a letter the court had received from a mother who has a handicapped child.
Kosaka said that in the letter the mother said her child was encouraged by the life of Horie, a self-made millionaire, and told Horie, ''I gave you a guilty verdict but do not mean to deny all of the way of your living. I want you to make the best of your ability and make a fresh start after expiating your crime.''
The four other former Livedoor executives are also standing trial on charges of violating the law but Horie is the only one to flatly deny the charges.
Miyauchi admitted to the charges against him, staging a dramatic showdown by testifying against his former boss in court.
The court will hand down its rulings on Miyauchi and others next Thursday and Livedoor as a company next Friday.
Horie, who founded Livedoor as Livin' on the Edge Inc. in 1996, has become a household name in Japan with his bold challenges and remarks to Japan's business old guard.
He drew both applause and flak for his aggressive business tactics such as a hostile takeover bid in 2005 for one of Japan's largest media groups.
Until his arrest in January last year, Horie was touted by some as a new type of business leader who could change Japan's clubby corporate culture.
Livedoor, which once controlled about 50 group companies, has been in reconstruction efforts under the new management.
Livedoor released a statement after the ruling, saying it ''takes the ruling seriously and we, under new leadership, will continuously make efforts to press for compliance and strengthen our inner management system.''
Current and former Livedoor shareholders have been filing damages suits against the company, claiming they suffered losses as its stock price plunged after prosecutors raided its office in January last year.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange delisted Livedoor last April from its Mothers market for start-up companies.
The number of Livedoor shareholders once peaked at 220,000.
==Kyodo
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