Mamoru Samuragochi, dubbed the Japanese Beethoven, admits paying another composer.

Mamoru Samuragochi, the deaf Japanese composer whose symphony to the victims of Hiroshima was picked up as a message of musical hope following the 2011 Tsunami, has admitted paying someone else to write his music.

Dubbed Japan’s Beethoven, Samuragochi apologised yesterday to his fans via his lawyer  who said, “Samuragochi is deeply sorry as he has betrayed fans and disappointed others. He knows he could not possibly make any excuse for what he has done”.

The scandal will be particularly frustrating for Japanese figure skater Daisuke Takahashi whose program at the Sochi Winter Olympics includes performing to one of Samuragochi’s sonatinas.

Samuragochi came to attention in the 1990s when his classical compositions were picked up for the soundtrack to video games like Resident Evil. The deception apparently began soon afterwards. “I started hiring the person to compose music for me around 1996, when I was asked to make movie music for the first time,” Samuragochi admitted. “I had to ask the person to help me for more than half the work because the ear condition got worse.”

The deaf composer’s reputation developed further last year after Japan’s public broadcaster NHK showed a...