Kodoani.com – Illustrator Nekokurage (Erika Ikeda), who is responsible for one of the manga versions of The Apothecary Diaries (there are two manga versions of The Apothecary Diaries), was sentenced to 10 months in prison and fined 11 million yen for tax evasion.
However, her sentence was suspended for three years, which means that if she behaves well during those three years, she will not have to serve her 10 months in prison.
Erika Ikeda was tried and convicted of failing to declare 260 million yen in income and therefore not paying taxes from 2019 to 2021. The Japanese Tax Agency said the tax money was used to buy real estate.
In her defense, Erika Ikeda said she had no intention of not paying taxes and that she planned to “pay later.”
It was discovered that Erika Ikeda had been filing tax returns for years without paying them on time, and a statement from her editor was discovered demanding that she file income tax “or the manga would be canceled”.
Furthermore, the light novel's author, Natsu Hyuga, advised Erika Ikeda to consult a “tax accountant” to help her file her taxes. Square Enix said that there are no plans to cancel Erika Ikeda's manga.