Kyodo: Toriyama invested in U.S. real estate company later found to be noncompliant with U.S. regulations

As part of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists' (ICIJ) investigation into the Paradise Papers, the organization found information last week on Dragon Ball manga creator Akira Toriyama's offshore investments.

The Japanese news agency Kyodo reported on November 5 that Toriyama was one of 12 Japanese people who invested in a U.S. real estate company in 2000. The company's accounting methods "were later found to be noncompliant with federal regulations."

According to Asahi Shimbun's report based on litigation documents, the company used loans and capital to purchase used apartments. Investors then declared a smaller income by adding the property depreciation deficits and other deficits together with the main company's profits. Kyodo reported that in 2005, tax authorities informed the investors that they would need to pay additional taxes.

In a separate but similar case involving another company that owed additional taxes, the case went to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015. Some of the company's investors were seeking to reverse the decision that the investors needed to pay the owed tax, but the investors lost the case.

Kyodo and Asahi Shimbun both contacted Toriyama for comment, and he said he couldn't comment on the situation, citing his busy daily schedule.

Yoshinori Shirono, CEO of the cosmetics company Ci:Z Holdings, was also an investor in the project. Asahi Shimbun contacted Ci:Z Holdings, but the company similarly declined to comment.

The ICIJ began releasing information on the Paradise Papers last week. The project is a global investigation into offshore activities of some of the world's richest and most powerful people and companies. The organization collaborated with more than 380 journalists in 30 languages to comb through more than 13 million leaked documents for a year. The papers also reveal offshore activities and interests for companies such as Apple and Nike, world leaders such as Queen Elizabeth II, and celebrities such as Justin Timberlake and Madonna.

Sources: ICIJ (Scilla Alecci), Kyodo, Asahi Shimbun (富田洸平)