The former head of a bankrupt rental kimono firm admitted Friday to defrauding banks to keep his business running, until it suddenly shut its shops before this year's Coming-of-Age Day celebration in January, causing a furor among female clients who were left without formal attire for the milestone events.

In his first court hearing at the Yokohama District Court, Yoichiro Shinozaki, 56, of now-defunct Harenohi admitted to swindling a combined ¥65 million ($570,000) from two banks in September 2016 by presenting padded earnings reports to cover up the fact that the firm was actually in the red.

Prosecutors said the company's business had deteriorated by August 2015 and a bank had refused to lend it money, prompting Shinozaki to instruct an accountant to pad the sales figures.