Miyazaki Rising: A Story of Power, Prison, and Sexual Harassment Part 3

Before I go on to tell you what happened on that fateful night in Vegas, here's a little background on what makes Motonobu Miyazaki relevant today:

Miyazaki was sick of being the #2 guy. In June 2006, a couple years after I left Yamada, he, too, left to start his own company, a direct competitor. He called it Nihon Mirise Corporation—a "rising company" destined for greatness. A credible source once told me that "Mirise" is a double entendre: "Mirai" means "future" in Japanese, but "Mirise" is also short for "Miyazaki rising." The name is drenched in one man's ego and desire for power.

Miyazaki took some of his loyal followers with him when he left, including some of the guys I used to work for. Things were going smoothly for a year and change—the company had money, clients, and a growing credibility.

Then, in early November, all hell broke loose. Someone found out that Miyazaki had transferred over 100 million yen from Yamada International to his new company, and he was promptly arrested on suspicion of embezzlement. The scandal was all over the news. A co-conspirator was the president of Yamada's international subsidiary, Osamu "Stacy" Akiyama, who followed Miyazaki's order to transfer a bunch of money to Mirise after he left.

As the investigation continued, all kinds of other sketchy truths came out. A former vice defense minister was involved—he'd let Miyazaki treat him to dozens of expensive golf trips and meals (totally illegal). The duped company, Yamada, was found to have been padding bills from clients since the 1970s to meet sales goals. Akiyama was extradited to Japan, where he went straight to jail. (He made sure to feed and foster his dog before he left his home in LA.)

To be continued...