Disgraced J-pop producer-icon Komuro faces suspended prison term+

OSAKA, May 11 Kyodo -
A Japanese court on Monday sentenced pop music producer Tetsuya Komuro to three
years in prison, suspended for five years, for swindling an investor out of 500
million yen in 2006 by attempting to sell copyrights for songs he no longer
owned.
In handing down the ruling at the Osaka District Court, Presiding Judge
Munehisa Sugita said the 50-year-old Komuro committed the crime because he
''was not able to forget his days of glory and had put himself into an economic
mire.'' He described the fraud as ''so cunning.''
But the judge also said Komuro ''has fully repaid the damages and has reflected
on (his actions),'' adding, ''The social significance of immediately sending
him to jail cannot be found.''
The focus of the trial of the high-flying music producer, song writer, composer
and arranger in the 1990s was whether the court would jail him or give him a
suspended term. Komuro has repaid the sum plus arrears amounting to a total of
648 million yen.
It is rare in Japan for a defendant to receive a suspended sentence in a fraud
case involving damages of over 100 million yen, even when the accused has
repaid part of the sum.
''I have made an extremely big mistake. I take the ruling sincerely,'' Komuro
told a press conference after the ruling.
The ruling touched on how the music producer who once represented Japanese pop
music later struggled with a lack of hit songs and failed investments and faced
accumulated debts.
''It cannot be said that there are no pitiful aspects, but it is so deplorable
that the numerous songs he made were used as the tools to commit fraud,'' the
judge said.
While prosecutors sought five years' imprisonment, saying that Komuro's actions
were ''malicious in that he used his status as a famous musician,'' Komoro's
defense counsel called for a suspended prison term, saying he had pleaded
guilty and has repaid the sum he defrauded the investor of plus arrears.
As the reason for giving a suspended sentence, the judge referred to the fact
that Komuro has hope for rehabilitation because there are people who support
him, such as Masato Matsuura, 44, president of Avex Group Holdings Inc., who
provided the money Komuro used to repay the investor. The company grew rapidly
with hit songs produced by Komuro.
''His reputation has hit the lowest point, but he should receive due
recognition for still producing many artists and contributing to the music
industry,'' the judge said.
According to the ruling, Komuro proposed to sell 806 songs for which he claimed
copyright for 1 billion yen in July 2006 to the investor from Ashiya, Hyogo
Prefecture.
Komura received 500 million yen the following month as an advance payment,
claiming it was required to release the royalties seized by his former wife, it
said.
Komuro, wearing a tie and a black suit, nodded several times as the judge urged
him to ''reset'' himself and to live a life that is ''very honest, like you
promised in court.''
Komuro has written scores of hits for such popular singers as Namie Amuro since
the 1990s but is said to have struggled with accumulated debts of more than 1
billion yen because of failed businesses and compensation to his former wife.
==Kyodo
2009-05-11 23:31:30