The Tokyo High Court on Thursday overturned a lower court ruling sentencing Atsuo Miki, a former president of the now-defunct Yamaichi Securities Co., to 30 months in prison with no suspension for business misconduct, and instead gave him a suspended three-year term.
Judge Yoshimasa Kawabe said of Miki, 66: "His criminal acts did not derive from a desire to seek personal gains" and "he has sincerely shown remorse" by using all his assets to pay damages in a negotiated settlement reached in March with the receivers of Yamaichi.
According to the court, Miki and former Chairman Tsugio Yukihira, 70, arranged to submit false financial statements over three fiscal years through March 1997 to hide losses of between 233.1 billion yen and 271.8 billion yen at Yamaichi.