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Excerpts:

Masato Matsuura, 44, president of Avex Group Holdings Inc, the holding company for a group of entertainment firms, put up the money on behalf of Komuro, 50, who was once a high-flying music producer, song writer, composer and arranger. The 648 million yen included arrears.

In Thursday’s court session, Avex President Matsuura took the witness stand and said Komuro is a real music lover and Avex, the music label, could not have grown without his help. Pop singers Ayumi Hamasaki and Kumi Koda could not have gone on to stardom without Komuro’s help, he said.

Matsuura asked the three-judge panel to suspend Komuro’s sentence and help him avoid going to prison, saying that he has prepared a seat for Komuro at his office.

Avex Vice President Ryuhei Chiba, who also took the witness stand at the court hearing, said he has allowed Komuro and his wife to stay at his home.

Chiba said Komuro has deeply regretted his conduct and he is confident that Komuro will never be involved in such a scandal again.

Read it: Avex puts up Y648 mil for music producer Komuro to pay back fraud victim