Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator Yuji Naka arrested in Japan on suspicion of insider trading

Yuji Naka, the co-creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, has been arrested by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office for insider trading.

According to Fuji News Network, the problem arose after Naka purchased 10,000 shares of stock in developer Aiming while employed at Square Enix in 2020.

Both companies were co-developers of the Dragon Quest Tact mobile game. The special investigation unit claims Naka knew of “important information about the new game,” which led Naka to purchase ¥2.8 million worth of stock.

Two other Square Enix employees were also arrested on suspicion of insider trading after the two purchased 162,000 shares of Aiming for around ¥47.2 million.

It is suggested that the three were looking for Aiming’s stock price to rise after the announcement of Dragon Quest Tact.

Naka joined Square Enix in 2018 and was the director of Balan Wonderworld, which went over like a lead balloon. After leaving the company last year, Naka sued Square for removing him as the game’s director six months before its release. Naka also claimed Balan Wonderworld was released to the world “in an unfinished state,” stating they were “disappointed that a product I worked on from the start turned out this way.”