The 33-year-old entrepreneur appeared in the Tokyo District Court accused of violating securities law by falsifying profit figures but he maintained his innocence, unlike lower ranking former Livedoor executives.
"I've never carried out such crimes and I didn't order them either," said Horie, dressed in a dark suit and blue necktie, in contrast to the t-shirts that he would famously wear to business meetings.
The Livedoor scandal briefly sent the Tokyo Stock Exchange into freefall in January, forcing it to close early for the first time ever and prompting the Japanese authorities to move swiftly to tighten up financial regulations.
The flamboyant entrepreneur complained that the indictment was written in spiteful language and said that the charges were "regrettable." If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison, with a verdict expected next year.
Horie, who appeared gaunter than during his Ferrari-driving days on the celebrity circuit, was expressionless as prosecution lawyers read out the indictments against him to a packed courtroom.
Some 2,000 people flocked to the court to try to catch a glimpse of the fallen Internet idol, a household name in Japan, but most were turned away.
Outside, television reporters relayed the latest events in the courtroom to viewers across the country, with the trial making headline news.
According to his lawyers, Horie rose at 7.00 am to work out in the gym before his first day in the dock, and enjoyed a lunch of rice and sea urchin during the break.
Horie and his colleagues are accused of falsely reporting a 5.03-billion-yen ($42.95-million) pretax profit for the year to September 2004 to conceal actual losses.
Prosecutors accuse Livedoor of illegally booking profits from sales of its own shares to "dummy" investment partners that it set up.
Horie was also accused of ordering former chief financial officer Ryoji Miyauchi and ex-director Fumito Kumagai to upgrade the profit forecast of the second business quarter of 2004 from 3 billion to 5 billion yen.
According to the indictment, Miyauchi replied: "It's dangerous. I think we had better not" but Horie then said, "That's okay. We have to be positive. It's cool to have a 5-billion-yen figure."
Horie's lawyers, however, told the Tokyo District Court that he knew nothing of the alleged crimes, arguing that they took place at Livedoor subsidiaries and not the parent company.
"Miyauchi was controlling all financial transactions and he was an equal partner of Horie," said defense lawyer Yasuyuki Takai
"Horie was not in a position to know all of the actions Miyauchi was undertaking. It is a fantasy of prosecutors to assume Livedoor was under the dictatorship of Horie," he told the court.
Four other former Livedoor executives including Miyauchi have admitted to fraud allegations.
Horie reveled in thumbing his nose at the establishment during his meteoric ascent as one of Japan's leading Internet stars but he has since seen a brutal fall from grace.
Horie built up one of Japan's top Internet empires by buying up companies in everything from financial services to real estate.
He sent tremors through Japan's corporate circles when he tried unsuccessfully to take over the nation's most watched TV network. He even ran for parliament last year with the blessing of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
Horie has been keeping a low profile since being released in April on 300 million yen bail after spending three months in jail.
© 2006 Agence France-Presse
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