The high-profile composer who stirred controversy by admitting his works had been penned by a ghostwriter — and whose purported deafness has since come into question — said Wednesday that he regained some of his hearing about three years ago.
In a handwritten apology sent to media organizations through his attorney, Mamoru Samuragochi, 50, dubbed "Japan's Beethoven," also said he plans to apologize in public soon.
Commenting on composer Takashi Niigaki's ghostwriting of his major works, he said: "It was a secret between us. I did not talk about it even to my wife as I was afraid that the revelation of the lie would ruin my life."