The late Den Fujita, founder and former president of McDonald's Co. (Japan), left his relatives 49.1 billion yen in inheritance subject to taxation, the tax office in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward said Friday.
The inheritance is the sixth-highest amount on record.
Fujita died last April of heart failure, aged 78.
Most of the inheritance is in the form of shares in McDonald's Holdings Co. (Japan), the holding company of McDonald's Japan, along with some estates and deposits, according to the tax office's public notification and other sources.
The tax levied on the inheritance totaled 12.2 billion yen, and has already been paid, the sources said.
A native of Osaka Prefecture, Fujita became a pioneer in Japan's fast-food industry by setting up McDonald's Japan jointly with the world's largest fast-food chain, McDonald's Corp. of the U.S., in 1971.
He assumed the post of company president.
After opening the firm's first outlet in Tokyo's Ginza district, Fujita made McDonald's Japan the nation's largest fast-food chain by increasing the number of outlets to about 3,800.
In March 2002, Fujita became chairman and chief executive officer of McDonald's Holdings Co. (Japan), but resigned from the post in March 2003, saying that "the age when one leader leads a company has ended."
Fujita was listed as the 14th-highest taxpayer in the nation last May.