Yoshiaki Tsutsumi

Tsutsumi, 70, owns a major stake in Kokudo Corp., which controls Seibu Railway and its 85 subsidiaries, and owns Prince Hotels Inc., the Seibu Lions professional baseball team and Seibu Construction Ltd.

Prosecutors allege that Tsutsumi conspired with several executives to falsify Seibu Railway's 2003 financial statement, putting Kokudo's stake in the railway at 43.16 percent instead of the actual 64.83 percent.

The falsification was allegedly an attempt to hide the fact that a handful of top executives owned too much of the railway -- a violation of Tokyo Stock Exchange rules. Seibu Railway admitted the deception and the stock exchange delisted the company in December.

Prosecutors also alleged that Tsutsumi was involved in insider trading to sell 180 million Seibu Railway shares in September 2004.

If convicted, Tsutsumi could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to ¥5 million for falsifying financial statements, or three years in prison and a fine of up to ¥3 million for insider trading.

The Japan Times Weekly: March 12, 2005
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