Tax officials reported 3,087 cases of what they see as overt attempts to conceal assets to avoid or reduce inheritance taxes in the year to June, the National Tax Administration said Thursday.
Both the number of cases and the total assets affected, about 95.9 billion yen, represented slight declines from a year earlier.
Assets subject to inheritance taxes dropped 4.5 percent to 13.216 trillion yen, the lowest amount seen in the 1990s, reflecting declining land values.
In one case where the administration judged intent, a person inheriting assets allegedly hid 200 million yen in cash at a relative's home.
The administration noted that an increasing number of people are leaving behind assets in the form of cash and deposits rather than land.
Inherited assets of land dropped by 10 trillion yen in value for the first time since 1989, while assets inherited in cash and deposits rose for the sixth consecutive year, to 13.4 percent of the total.
The largest amount of assets left for inheritance by one person was around 22.7 billion yen, by a company executive in Kuwana, Mie Prefecture.