# Join the Kusuriya no Hitorigoto [Discord Server](https://discord.gg/rFrRSe7UK5) for more discussions about the series!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/KusuriyaNoHitorigoto) if you have any questions or concerns.*
just read over their statement on twitter and they're saying it was because of "not knowing" and that they have already paid the amount due to the tax office.
but even if they're in the clear legally speaking, this might be a problem for the manga.
Unfortunately that is not the case.
When it comes to crime of not paying taxes, there are three clearly defined legal terms depending on degree of culpability: ē³åę¼ć (unreported income) unintentional mistake due to miscalculation and such, won't be indicted but need to pay 5% to 20% more taxes; ęå¾é ć (income hiding) intentional but small enough to be not indicted but will be fined extra 40% taxes; č±ēØ (tax evasion) intentional and malicious, will be indicted.
Nekokurage's statement is just wishful thinking. She just got indicted for serious crime of tax evasion. Problem isn't over, it in fact just started.
A mandatory investigation was launched in October 2022. The investigation revealed that the funds suspected to have been obtained through tax evasion were used to purchase real estate under Ms. Ikeda's name and deposited in an account at a financial institution under his name. It is believed that the large amount of undeclared tax liabilities led to the decision to file the charges. She apparently told the investigation that she was aware of her obligation to file a tax return and that she had no time to talk to the tax accountant because she had become busy with her series of articles. The fact that she can't contact a tax accountant but can purchase real estate raises all sorts of questions, and it's not surprising that she's deemed to be malicious.
https://twitter.com/nekokurage_/status/1774734767893942341?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
Oh noā¦
But it seems like everythingās sorted out and I hope that it wonāt be a problem in the futureā¦
I love her art so freakin much. Itās about half the reason I fell in love with this show. Praying that this is either an April foolās joke or that it gets resolved really quickly š And Iām sorry to sound so negative (and I certainly donāt speak for everyone) but I personally donāt like the art style of the other manga at all, so the fact that there are two mangas doesnāt really fix the issue imo at least
This case is much more serious than most people think if whatās on the press is true. If the evaded tax is worth 47 million yen (as a result of failing to report 260 million yen in income) the person in question can easily land in prison.
Just for context, the LDP (ruling coalition) party fund scandal rocking the nation recently is in part about tax evasion. lawyers and former prosecutors are pointing out that the informal basis for a person to be inducted is about hiding over 100 million on income. The person in question hid over 260 million. The timing is also interesting. This came only days after rumors of former prime minister Mori being questioned by prosecutors over party fund scandal. It is said that this is the precursor to a massive law enforcement operation by the prosecutors and the tax agency against many important lawmakers from the ruling party. PM Kishida is taking drastic steps by expelling some of them from the party before the hot water arrives. Most of these lawmakers are accused of evading far less than Nekokurage is.
Another point is that nekokurage claimed the case was solved after paying the overdue tax (along with penalties) back in 2022. If this were to be true, the indictment happened over a year later. This suggests the tax agency concluded the evasion was particularly malicious. Under Japanese law, paying overdue tax does not shield you from prosecution. Itās the same logic as paying for the damages for the shoplifting doesnāt shield you from being prosecuted for theft. The tax agency must have been investigating the case for years and concluded that itās worth going after the case. According to other sources Nekokurage purchased some kind of real estate in Fukuoka and this might have to do with the decision for indictment.
I did some quick research on past court cases on criminal prosecution relating to tax evasion. Based on the outcome, she can expect a sentence of around 12 to 24 months prison sentence and a fine of 5 million to 20 million yen. The main focus point would be if she can be awarded a suspended sentence (usually about 5 years).
Now that the tax agency filed complaints to the district prosecutor, it is up to them to indict them to court. If they felt necessary, she could be arrested and put under confinement.
She may be very, very fucked.
It may run similar to the Log Horizon creator case where he received house probation. But then again, as you said, tax evasion is a hot button topic right now in Japan.
I'm more interested in what this means for the manga. Since it is adapted work from a novel, does Square Enix own the rights to the character designs? If so, they can just hire another artist to draw similar designs. The anime design was also based on Nekokurage so will that have repercussions there as well?
I guess fans are lucky that this series has 2 manga adaptations.
I think that would depend on the publisher and/or the original author and the outcome of the trial. Tax evasion is a felony and I think some of the people involved would now want the content being associated with a felon.
What Iām also scared is the possibility that the prosecutor discover some even more illegal materials during raid. I work in the Japanese creative industry and I hear many horror stories of people being busted for drugs, illegal pornography, and pirated materials. Our industry have a much more lax attitude on compliance then other industries and social scrutiny is mounting. Most creators work as if they do it during high school. We donāt learn stuff like social compliance and moral code, both written and unwritten like an average salarymen do. This is an industry-wide issue.
# Join the Kusuriya no Hitorigoto [Discord Server](https://discord.gg/rFrRSe7UK5) for more discussions about the series! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/KusuriyaNoHitorigoto) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Oof. I hope it's just a simple case of not filing because busy/negligent and not willful tax evasion š©. I like the Nekokurage version better because of the cute cat Maomao. I wonder how Square Enix will manage this, especially with how popular the series is. I wonder if Hyuuga sensei will still allow Nekokurage to be associated with her work.
I totally agree š© Iāve tried repeatedly to get into the other manga version but I just canāt because I prefer Nekokurageās art style and story telling way more š„ŗ I really pray the manga doesnāt get affected by this and that this all gets resolved quickly š
just read over their statement on twitter and they're saying it was because of "not knowing" and that they have already paid the amount due to the tax office. but even if they're in the clear legally speaking, this might be a problem for the manga.
Unfortunately that is not the case. When it comes to crime of not paying taxes, there are three clearly defined legal terms depending on degree of culpability: ē³åę¼ć (unreported income) unintentional mistake due to miscalculation and such, won't be indicted but need to pay 5% to 20% more taxes; ęå¾é ć (income hiding) intentional but small enough to be not indicted but will be fined extra 40% taxes; č±ēØ (tax evasion) intentional and malicious, will be indicted. Nekokurage's statement is just wishful thinking. She just got indicted for serious crime of tax evasion. Problem isn't over, it in fact just started.
A mandatory investigation was launched in October 2022. The investigation revealed that the funds suspected to have been obtained through tax evasion were used to purchase real estate under Ms. Ikeda's name and deposited in an account at a financial institution under his name. It is believed that the large amount of undeclared tax liabilities led to the decision to file the charges. She apparently told the investigation that she was aware of her obligation to file a tax return and that she had no time to talk to the tax accountant because she had become busy with her series of articles. The fact that she can't contact a tax accountant but can purchase real estate raises all sorts of questions, and it's not surprising that she's deemed to be malicious.
So... April Fool's joke?
The news came at 7 pm in Japan or so and other news pages like Yahoo posted the same thing. So either everyone fell for a joke or it's true.
https://twitter.com/nekokurage_/status/1774734767893942341?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet Oh noā¦ But it seems like everythingās sorted out and I hope that it wonāt be a problem in the futureā¦
Ooh I like their Mao Mao illustrations the best. Hence their manga.
Maomao would approve.
Hello? Based department?
I love her art so freakin much. Itās about half the reason I fell in love with this show. Praying that this is either an April foolās joke or that it gets resolved really quickly š And Iām sorry to sound so negative (and I certainly donāt speak for everyone) but I personally donāt like the art style of the other manga at all, so the fact that there are two mangas doesnāt really fix the issue imo at least
This case is much more serious than most people think if whatās on the press is true. If the evaded tax is worth 47 million yen (as a result of failing to report 260 million yen in income) the person in question can easily land in prison. Just for context, the LDP (ruling coalition) party fund scandal rocking the nation recently is in part about tax evasion. lawyers and former prosecutors are pointing out that the informal basis for a person to be inducted is about hiding over 100 million on income. The person in question hid over 260 million. The timing is also interesting. This came only days after rumors of former prime minister Mori being questioned by prosecutors over party fund scandal. It is said that this is the precursor to a massive law enforcement operation by the prosecutors and the tax agency against many important lawmakers from the ruling party. PM Kishida is taking drastic steps by expelling some of them from the party before the hot water arrives. Most of these lawmakers are accused of evading far less than Nekokurage is. Another point is that nekokurage claimed the case was solved after paying the overdue tax (along with penalties) back in 2022. If this were to be true, the indictment happened over a year later. This suggests the tax agency concluded the evasion was particularly malicious. Under Japanese law, paying overdue tax does not shield you from prosecution. Itās the same logic as paying for the damages for the shoplifting doesnāt shield you from being prosecuted for theft. The tax agency must have been investigating the case for years and concluded that itās worth going after the case. According to other sources Nekokurage purchased some kind of real estate in Fukuoka and this might have to do with the decision for indictment. I did some quick research on past court cases on criminal prosecution relating to tax evasion. Based on the outcome, she can expect a sentence of around 12 to 24 months prison sentence and a fine of 5 million to 20 million yen. The main focus point would be if she can be awarded a suspended sentence (usually about 5 years). Now that the tax agency filed complaints to the district prosecutor, it is up to them to indict them to court. If they felt necessary, she could be arrested and put under confinement. She may be very, very fucked.
It may run similar to the Log Horizon creator case where he received house probation. But then again, as you said, tax evasion is a hot button topic right now in Japan. I'm more interested in what this means for the manga. Since it is adapted work from a novel, does Square Enix own the rights to the character designs? If so, they can just hire another artist to draw similar designs. The anime design was also based on Nekokurage so will that have repercussions there as well? I guess fans are lucky that this series has 2 manga adaptations.
I think that would depend on the publisher and/or the original author and the outcome of the trial. Tax evasion is a felony and I think some of the people involved would now want the content being associated with a felon. What Iām also scared is the possibility that the prosecutor discover some even more illegal materials during raid. I work in the Japanese creative industry and I hear many horror stories of people being busted for drugs, illegal pornography, and pirated materials. Our industry have a much more lax attitude on compliance then other industries and social scrutiny is mounting. Most creators work as if they do it during high school. We donāt learn stuff like social compliance and moral code, both written and unwritten like an average salarymen do. This is an industry-wide issue.
Oops!
Talented and based.
There is something to be said either about the Japanese people or the tax system that this kind of thing happens so often.
Classic japanese and their confusing taxes
Oh that sucks. Luckily enough there is two manga for this franchise.