The head of a clinic providing after-hours medical care in Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district has been singled out by the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau for fudging his income and concealing ¥350 million of it, sources revealed Monday.
Shuken Yamanaka, 52, who runs Asuka Clinic in Shinjuku Ward, failed to declare ¥350 million over a seven-year period up to 2011, and concealed ¥290 million of it, the sources alleged.
Asuka Clinic was once portrayed by the media as a medical institution catering mainly to foreigners in Kabukicho, one of the capital's best-known adult-entertainment spots.
In a magazine article, Yamanaka was called the "Red Beard" (akahige) Doctor who keeps an eye on Kabukicho at night" — an analogy to a charitable downtown doctor that's a central character in Akira Kurosawa's film "Akahige," who worked under that name.
Yamanaka, who has been slapped with penalties of about ¥150 million, including a hefty additional tax, has already submitted a revised tax statement, the sources said.
Yamanaka, who has been running Asuka Clinic since May 2001, camouflaged its ownership by using an acquaintance's name as its owner and pretended to be employed by the facility, other sources said. This made his income appear much smaller.
While pocketing the unreported amount, Yamanaka was also secretly profiting by treating foreigners who didn't have national health insurance, the sources alleged.
While the national scheme enables those enrolled to cover 10 to 30 percent of their medical expenses, for which compensation to medical institutions is fixed, the cost of treatment provided to those not covered by the plan is set individually by institutions. Medical caregivers usually require payment in full at the time of treatment.