KANAGAWA (TR) – A 77-year-old kindergarten principal here has been referred to prosecutors after allegedly evading approximately 37 million yen in income taxes to bankroll his personal investments, reports the Sankei Shimbun (June 16).
Yuji Tokushige, the principal of Matsubara Gakuen Kindergarten in Yamato City, was slapped with a criminal complaint by the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau over suspected violations of the Income Tax Law.
The bureau forwarded the case to the Yokohama District Public Prosecutors Office on February 25, investigative sources revealed on Tuesday.
According to sources, Tokushige orchestrated a systematic tax dodging scheme by ordering the kindergarten’s administrative chief, who handled accounting, to cook the books.
Between 2021 and 2023, the principal allegedly instructed staff to leave portions of the school’s revenue off the books while simultaneously inflating operational expenses. Through this method, Tokushige managed to conceal a staggering 125 million yen in total income over the three-year period.
The illicit funds saved through the tax evasion scheme were reportedly funneled directly into Tokushige’s personal investment ventures.
