Japan's Murakami Yoshiaki  faces a possible three years in prison and a fine of up to $30,000 - small change when you consider the billions he has made.

Murakami is a corporate raider in a land where business is done by consensus.

In the end, he admitted to inadvertently "breaking the law" by buying shares after he had "heard" that a company might be the target of a hostile takeover.

Normally, this is called insider trading. But the Japanese also have a way of not saying things directly. It causes nightmares for many foreigners.

The 46-year-old Murakami said, "I am a professional among professionals in the stock market. I realized I made a mistake."

Japanese like apologies, though they are not always inclined to offer them up soon enough. Judges often say, "because you show no remorse, your sentence is increased to...."

One wonders how much of Murakami's jail time and fine will be reduced because of his admission of guilt and acknowledgement of wrongdoing.

What we do know for sure, is this nail has been hammered down.

Editorial Commentary by Mr. Stolyarov: This is a defect in Japanese culture as well as in any other culture that condemns non-coercive but unconventional business practices. There is nothing wrong with "insider trading"; it is simply acting on information that an entrepreneur has obtained -- often legitimately. What is the entrepreneur supposed to do: deliberately forget vital information that he has received -- information that could dramatically affect his financial state? "Insider trading" is not immoral or objectionable; it is an instance of individuals using the information at their disposal to maximize their utility and opportunities.

Dr. Bill Belew is a former Intelligence Officer for a Destroyer Squadron. He lived 20 years in Japan, where he started a language school for Japanese ECS. Dr. Belew teaches classes for a vocational school and online for a national university.

See Dr. Belew's blog, PanAsianBiz, for news and discussions about business and current events in Russia and Asia.

This TRA feature has been edited in accordance with TRA’s Statement of Policy.

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Learn about Mr. Stolyarov's novel, Eden against the Colossus, here.