Ex-president of sushi chain pleads guilty to stealing business secrets

TOKYO, Dec 23 (NHK) - The former head of a major sushi chain operator in Japan has pleaded guilty to stealing confidential information from a rival company he used to work for.

Tanabe Koki, the ex-president of Kappa Create, entered a guilty plea in the first hearing at the Tokyo District Court on Thursday. The operator runs the Kappa Sushi conveyer-belt restaurant chain.

Tanabe is accused of violating the law to prevent unfair competition.

Tanabe moved to Kappa Create from the parent company of rival chain Hama-Sushi in 2020. He was charged with stealing data on how much Hama-Sushi was paying its suppliers.

Prosecutors argue that the stolen data was an asset for Hama-Sushi, and Tanabe tried to make use of it after he changed jobs. ...continue reading

Source: TBS NEWS

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