Former Livedoor Co. President Takafumi Horie rapidly became one of Japan's most successful entrepreneurs after dropping out of the prestigious University of Tokyo, and, within a decade, fell from grace -- something many current students see as an example of how not to behave.
Horie and three other Livedoor group executives were arrested last week for allegedly releasing false information on the takeover of a publisher and manipulating the group's financial results in 2004.
At a seminar at Tokyo University's department of arts and sciences, where Horie studied, students had been given an in-class essay test titled "Horiemon (Horie's nickname) and I" during the time when the Livedoor president was aggressively seeking to boost his business.