Popular Japanese animation studio ufotable has beenmarred by controversyfollowing the indictment of president and founder, Hikaru Kondo.
Kondo, who was indicted by prosecutors in July, now faces a 20-month prison sentence after admitting to tax evasion charges made against him in September. Prosecutors allege that Kondo failed to pay ¥138 million – roughly USD 1.25 million – in taxes, and by doing so violated the Corporation Tax Act and Consumption Tax Act.
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Though the studio president initially denied the allegations, both he and ufotable would acknowledge the charges during the July indictment. The prosecution placed the majority of the blame on Kondo himself, claiming that he had encouraged the studio to “repeatedly commit accounting fraud when profits were high,” stating that he had “denied the company’s responsibility to pay taxes in good faith” in doing so.
The studio itself supposedly hid ¥441 million – roughly USD 4 million – in earnings. Ufotable has since claimed to have filled a proper tax return and paid back the appropriate amount.
The prosecution claims that Kondo hid part of the studio’s earnings made frommiscellaneous merchandise salesand various cafes from 2015-2018. According to a report from The Mainichi Shimbun, Kondo hid around 30% of earnings made from different ufotable anime-themed restaurants in the Tokyo area and stored the money in a private safe at his residence. Following the November 1st hearing, Kondo is scheduled to return to court on December 10th, where a verdict will be delivered.
Kondo founded the studio in 2000 alongside former TMS Entertainment staff members. They would go on to work closely with game developer Type-Moon, adapting various works such asThe Garden of Sinnersfilms and a multitude of entries in theFatefranchise, mostnotably theHeaven’s Feeltrilogyand the incredibly popularUnlimited Blade WorksandFate/Zeroanime adaptations.
They are perhaps best known for their work on the acclaimedDemon Slayeranime, producing the series’ first season in 2019 followed by the release of thehighly successfulMugen Trainfilm adaptationin 2020. The anime’s second season is currently airing in Japan and fans can stream it on both Funimation and Crunchyroll.
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