A former employee of SoftBank Corp. was found guilty Thursday of illegally acquiring the mobile phone operator's confidential information.

The Tokyo District Court sentenced Yutaka Araki, 48, to two years in prison, suspended for four years, and fined him 800,000 yen ($7,400). The prosecutors had sought a two-year jail term and 1 million yen fine.

In handling down the ruling, Judge Ryota Akamatsu said Araki committed a "malicious" crime as he "took advantage of his position, which gave him access to business secrets" and tried to cover his tracks.


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Araki accessed a computer server at SoftBank via a computer from his home near Tokyo, obtaining the confidential information in February and March 2019, according to the ruling. The judge said Araki was paid 200,000 yen per session.

Prosecutors this month dropped the case against Anton Kalinin, a former Russian diplomat in Japan who allegedly asked Araki to get the information, as he had left Japan and there was little chance of him returning if requested to do so.

Police had requested through the Foreign Ministry that the Russian Embassy present Kalinin before he left for Russia.