A former judge accused of insider trading using information obtained while he was seconded to the Financial Services Agency (FSA) admitted to the allegation in a trial at the Tokyo District Court on Wednesday.

Prosecutors sought a prison sentence of two years, a fine of ¥1 million ($6,670) and an additional penalty of ¥10.2 million for defendant Soichiro Sato, 32, while the defense asked for a suspended sentence. The trial was concluded on the same day, and the court has fixed March 26 to deliver its verdict.

According to the indictment, Sato bought shares in 10 companies between April 17 and Sept. 5 last year for about ¥9.52 million in total using undisclosed information about tender offers he learned through his assignment at the FSA.

When questioned about his motive, Sato told the court, "I was strongly obsessed with the thought that I had to prepare in case something happened to my aging parents and my family."

According to the prosecution's opening statement, Sato was an assistant head of the FSA division handling corporate disclosures, during which he screened documents containing firms' planned tender offer periods and prices.

He allegedly believed, soon after being appointed to the post, that trading a small amount of issues that were not well known would not be found out, and began buying shares of companies before they announced tender offers using his own securities account.

Money obtained from selling the shares after the tender offer announcements was used to make credit card payments and purchase other stocks.

The size of Sato's stock purchases gradually grew after he initially bought ¥290,000's worth, reaching about ¥3.24 million right before an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission.

"I strongly regret that I betrayed the trust of people at the FSA and the court," the defendant said in his final statement. "I will atone for it all my life."