The former chairman of failed department store chain Sogo Co. was handed a court order Tuesday to pay some 12.7 billion yen to Mizuho Corporate Bank in his capacity as a guarantor for a loan extended to a Sogo outlet that later turned sour.
The Tokyo District Court said Hiroo Mizushima, 91, should repay the loan, as well as additional money for delinquent payment for a loan extended by the bank, which was then known as the Industrial Bank of Japan, to Sogo's Kinshicho branch in Sumida Ward, Tokyo.
During the trial, Mizushima's lawyers argued that he had agreed to act as guarantor, having been told by IBJ officials that the contract was only a formality and that he would not be held responsible for the loan.
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