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Ex-board chairman at Nihon University gets 1-year suspended sentence

Mar 30, 2022 (Japan Today) - A former board chairman at one of Japan's largest universities was given a one-year suspended prison sentence, along with a fine of 13 million yen, on Tuesday for evading around 52 million yen in income tax.

The Tokyo District Court found Hidetoshi Tanaka, who was head of the board of Nihon University in Tokyo, guilty, handing him the sentence, suspended for three years for underreporting a total of around 118 million yen in income in 2018 and 2020 by excluding money derived from kickbacks.

According to prosecutors, Tanaka, 75, received a large sum of the kickbacks from former university board member, Tadao Inoguchi, and Masami Yabumoto, who formerly headed a medical corporation.

Presiding Judge Toshiro Nohara pointed out that Tanaka had stored the money at his house and asked his wife to not mention about it in a report to tax offices.

"It was a simple yet bold trick, clearly showing (Tanaka's) intention of underreporting (the income)," Nohara added.

The court, however, decided to hand over the suspended sentence as Tanaka has already paid the income tax and resigned from his post at the university.

Source: テレ東BIZ

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