 Yuji Naka, co-creator of the popular Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and the less-popular Balan Wonderworld, is reported to have been arrested in Japan, his alleged crime, insider trading. Japanese news outlet FNN has reported that Naka is among three former Square Enix employees to have benefited from the announcement of mobile game Dragon Quest Tact, which was first revealed in 2020. This was at the time when Naka was working on Balan Wonderworld. The game was developed by Aiming Inc, a newcomer to the Dragon Quest franchise, and was an intended successor to the DSiWare game Dragon Quest Wars. Because Aiming Inc wasn't previously connected to the Dragon Quest franchise, the announcement on 5 February 2020 that the studio would be developing a mobile game for the series brought increased attention and increased investor interest. Stock prices jumped up as the relatively obscure company was seen as a good bet for those wishing to cash in on the Dragon Quest name. This meant that anyone who owned stock previous to the announcement saw their investment value grow rapidly. According to FNN, Yuji Naka, then employed by Square Enix, purchased 10,000 shares at a value of 2.8 million yen, approximately US$20,000, shortly before Dragon Quest Tact was announced. He wasn't the only person to do so. FNN also reports that then fellow employees Taisuki Suzuki and Fumiaki Suzuki purchased shares worth a combined US$300,000. These two developers are believed to have worked on the Dragon Quest series, hence their awareness of Dragon Quest Tact. The allegations of insider trading come from the suspicion that all three men, due to their work at Square Enix, were aware in advance that Aiming Inc was working on a Dragon Quest game and recognised that this would make the company more valuable after the game's announcement. Insider trading is tremendously common in Japan, and until relatively recently, government intervention to prevent these trades has been lax. Rooters report several cases from 2010 in which large financial institutions were discovered to have made trades worth over US$50 million on insider information. When caught, these led to fines of less than US$1,000 apiece. According to Bloomberg, insider trading cost the Japanese stock market around US$800 billion or US$5 billion in 2010. So in 2012, the Japanese Financial Services Authority announced a crackdown on insider trading in an effort to reverse what was seen as an endemic problem. At the time, Business Insider stated, under such circumstances, the word crackdown hardly seems appropriate. Just like the US government's effort to combat web piracy in the early 2000s, this is a case of too little, too late. Insider trading is such a universally accepted part of Japan's business culture that the FSA cannot hope to prosecute every suspect and will likely resort to making a few examples. Who will be targeted and how severe the punishment will be remains to be seen, but not much can be expected unless drastic policy changes are made. Naka's arrest is emblematic of the Japanese Authority's efforts to curb what is seen as an incredibly commonplace crime. It is worth pointing out that the allegations made against him are a tiny fraction of the larger illegal trades. That said, this is a further dent to the reputation of a developer who has received a lot of negative press in recent months. In April, Naka announced plans to sue Square Enix over his treatment while working on Balan Wonderworld. The moral of the story is nice and simple. Don't break the law.