TOKYO — Readers have asked me for an update on the Japan Ice Hockey League and Yoshiaki Tsutsumi.
The JIHL ended in 2004 when it was replaced by Asian League Ice Hockey featuring teams in Japan, China and South Korea. Tsutsumi’s Seibu Prince Rabbits were one of the entries, but folded in 2009 due to economic difficulties. He was arrested in 2005 on charges of violating the securities trading law. He pleaded guilty and that year was sentenced to 30 months in prison, suspended for four years, and was fined five million yen. Today at age 89, he remains a major shareholder in the Seibu business empire.
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