The Fukuoka District Court on the 24th handed down a verdict to manga artist Erika Ikeda (36), who was charged with violating the Income Tax Act (simple failure to declare) for evading approximately 47 million yen in taxes by failing to declare income earned from illustrations for the popular manga “The Apothecary’s Diary.”
Judge Takeda Yuko stated that the defendant had “committed large amounts of tax evasion over several years, which is extremely malicious,” and sentenced her to 10 months in prison, suspended for three years, along with a fine of 11 million yen (the prosecution had called for a 10-month prison sentence and a 14 million yen fine).
According to the ruling, Ikeda earned a total of approximately 260 million yen in manuscript fees and royalties from publishers over the three years from 2019 to 2021 but committed tax evasion by failing to submit tax returns by the deadline.
Judge Takeda pointed out that although the manga suddenly became popular and Ikeda began to earn a large income, “she prioritized her work and personal life and committed tax evasion.”
Ikeda is active as a manga artist under the pen name “Neko Kurage.” “The Apothecary’s Diary” is a manga adaptation of a novel of the same name and began serialization in the monthly magazine “Big Gangan” in May 2017.
