Overview

• JA Group Kyoto chair Yasuhiro Nakagawa denied tax evasion and said he filed a Sept. 25 review request with the National Tax Tribunal contesting Osaka Regional Taxation Bureau assessments, while insisting he did not receive corporate profits.
• Reporting based on sources says the bureau recognized roughly ¥5 billion in concealed income at a related company over seven years and levied about ¥5 billion in additional taxes including heavy penalties, with about ¥3 billion viewed as flowing to Nakagawa.
• Tonaki Village in Okinawa returned former mayor Suguru Tobaru to office by 16 votes, 121–105, on Sept. 28, with turnout reaching 88.72% among 257 eligible voters.
• On-the-ground coverage of the Liberal Democratic Party leadership race describes subdued campaign events and scant attention to political funding issues as the Oct. 4 vote nears.
• Sapporo District Court approved special liquidation for retort food maker Hokkaido Yurikago on Sept. 9, with liabilities reported at about ¥14.74 billion, and the Sendai High Court fast-tracked the Upper House “one-vote disparity” case to a Nov. 7 ruling after concluding its first hearing the same day.