One of the more eye-catching episodes in Japan’s corporate history is due to reach a conclusion on Friday when the Tokyo district court hands down a verdict on Takafumi Horie, the former president of Livedoor, an internet provider. He is accused of market manipulation and accounting fraud.

Like Yoshiaki Murakami, his fellow shareholder activist who was arrested on charges of insider trading, this corporate maverick was once seen as a pioneer of western-style capitalism in a country where companies were traditionally run in the interests of managers and employees rather than shareholders.