‘Beethoven of Japan’ says he can hear again

A composer known as the "Beethoven of Japan" said on Wednesday he had regained some of his hearing ability, a week after setting off a furor by admitting he had used a ghost writer for his popular symphonies and other music. Mamoru Samuragochi, a classical musician, became known as an inspirational genius for composing despite losing his hearing. Samuragochi said on Wednesday that he had suffered hearing loss and was not able to hear when he began paying a part-time university professor to write music under his name, a collaboration that went on for 18 years. Samuragochi, 50, apologized to fans last week for paying Takashi Niigaki to write compositions under his name.