Japanese Social Media Influencer Charged with Tax Evasion

Tokyo, Dec. 25 (Jiji Press)–Public prosecutors on Thursday indicted a Tokyo-based advertising company called Solarie, its president, Reika Kuroki, who is also a social media influencer, and two company executives on charges of evading 157 million yen in corporate and other taxes. The three individuals were not arrested. As influencer Reika Miyazaki, Kuroki has some 500,000 followers on Instagram. She promotes cosmetics and other products on the platform at requests from advertising agencies and receives fees via Solarie, informed sources said. According to the indictment, Kuroki allegedly concealed a total of 496 million yen in income in the year through January 2021 and the two years through January 2024, evading 126 million yen in corporate and other taxes. She is also alleged to have evaded 31 million yen in consumption and other taxes between February 2022 and January 2024. Money from the alleged tax evasion is believed to have been used for the company’s operating costs. In an Instagram post on the day, Kuroki said that she is reflecting deeply on her conduct and will swiftly make necessary corrections and pay taxes. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]