Manga author Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump) hit a bit of a snag this week when he and 11 other Japanese individuals were named in the Paradise Papers, a leak of millions of corporate documents related to overseas investments that purports to expose how the wealthy shelter their income from taxation.

According to sources, Toriyama had invested in an American company that specialized in real estate, specifically leveraging borrowed money to purchase 2nd hand apartments. The company came under fire in 2005 when federal tax authorities determined that their methods of accounting (which involved declaring losses through property value depreciation) didn't meet proper regulatory standards. A Supreme Court case in 2015 ruled that investors could be held liable to pay taxes on these investments.

When questioned about this wrinkle, Toriyama declined to comment, stating: "Because of my hectic schedule, I'm leaving the tax-related questions to you, and so I don't have anything more to say about it."

Sources:

The Asahi Shimbun via Yahoo! News Japan

Daily Sports

Paul Chapman is the host of The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME! Anime Fun Time.