Nihon University chairman Hidetoshi Tanaka resigns

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Nihon University chairman Hidetoshi Tanaka resigns

TOKYO -- Hidetoshi Tanaka, the 74-year-old chairman of the Nihon University who was arrested on December 1 by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office for violating the Income Tax Act by underreporting his income, told the university on the morning of December 1 that he intends to resign.

An urgent board meeting was scheduled for the afternoon on that day, and discussions on the fate of his career may be held, according to sources close to the matter. Tanaka, a graduate of Nihon University College of Economics, became chairman of the board in 2008 and is currently in his fifth term. He was arrested on November 29 for tax evasion of 53 million yen, about 467,000 for income tax in 2018 and 2020.

Tanaka has not appeared in public, nor has he held a press conference to provide explanations on the issue since a breach of trust case involving a former Nihon University board member in connection with a project to rebuild Nihon University Itabashi Hospital surfaced in September.

On November 24, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Shinsuke Suematsu instructed the university's leadership to quickly fulfill its responsibility to explain the situation.