Relatives of cartoonist Shotaro Ishinomori failed to declare 400 million yen in inheritance received upon his death in 1998, taxation authorities said Thursday.
The relatives, including Ishinomori's son, actor Jo Onodera, were made to pay 50 million yen in taxes and penalties after being investigated by the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau, sources close to the family said.
Ishinomori, whose real name was Shotaro Onodera, was best known for the series "Kamen Rider" ("Masked Riders") and "Cyborg 009." He was once an apprentice of the late cartoonist Osamu Tezuka.
Family members of Ishinomori, who died in January 1998, failed to report their inheritance to the Nerima-Higashi Taxation Office by November of that year, thereby exceeding the 10-month legal deadline for inheritance declarations.