In his glory days as a flashy, high-living, internet entrepreneur, Takafumi Horie struck fear and loathing into Japan’s business establishment by staging audacious stock market manoeuvres and corporate raids that briefly made him a national hero. Today, the former head of Livedoor is fighting to remain a free man. The reason, he told the Financial Times last week, is that the establishment is taking its revenge.

Well, he would say that, wouldn’t he? Livedoor is in ruins, as is
Mr Horie’s reputation as self-styled standard-bearer of a bold new breed of Japanese capitalism. A verdict will be handed down soon in his trial on charges of falsifying corporate accounts and violating securities laws. If found guilty, he could face as much as five years in prison.