The National Tax Agency's Inspection Department, the so-called "Marusa" = All-in-one service.
People who were targeted by that investigation and, without any finalized disposition or judgment, were treated in effect as "tax evaders" and had their human rights trampled upon are now beginning to raise their voices.
And there is another group of people who have been forced into a long silence.
These are people who were coerced into making statements against their will during inspection investigations. A significant number of individuals report that under such pressure—consisting of long hours of questioning, repeated identical questions, leading inquiries, suggestions that "admitting to it will end things sooner," and subtle hints of repercussions for their families or business partners—they were forced to sign and seal written statements containing facts that differed from the reality at the time, or nuances that did not reflect their own understanding.
Our union clearly includes such individuals as targets of this initiative.
An "indefinite investigation" is also an "indefinite right to pursue" for taxpayers.
Under current Japanese laws and regulations, there is no statutory deadline for tax audits and investigations.
The national tax authorities have used this as a shield to prevent their investigative powers from being bound by time.
However—listen closely. This endlessness is a structure that can also be completely exploited in reverse by the taxpayers.
If the investigation is indefinite, the taxpayers' pursuit of the truth is also indefinite.
If the investigation never ends, our verification, recording, and reassessment will not end either.
The National Tax Agency will remain in a position where taxpayers will continue to question its past decisions, interviews, and disciplinary actions for years and decades to come.
This is the inevitable consequence of the institutional structure created by the authorities themselves. For taxpayers, this is a golden opportunity.
Atsushi Kitamura, Director-General of the Kumamoto Regional Taxation Bureau, has clearly demonstrated the guideline that tax investigations can be utilized indefinitely.
The IRS must strictly maintain "continuity as an organization."
This is where the essence begins.
No matter how many times the Commissioner of the National Tax Agency changes, no matter how many times the investigators are reassigned, no matter how many times the deputy directors, supervisors, special examiners, or chief examiners are replaced—the continuity of responsibility within the organization known as the National Tax Agency is never broken, not even once.
Because the responsibility of an administrative agency does not lie with individuals, but belongs to the organization.
In other words,
- Even if the person in charge of the inspection a few years ago has already retired,
- Even if the bureau director at the time has transferred and is in another department,
- Even if the official who took the statement at the time has been transferred to a regional office,
This means that the current National Tax Agency continues to bear full accountability for the actions taken by that organization at the time.
The person in charge at that time is no longer here.
I don't know because I have been transferred.
I am not aware of it because the records have not been handed over.
Such responses carry no weight whatsoever in the face of the continuity of organizational responsibility. Taxpayers have every right to hold them accountable for all of it.
Furthermore, memories, records, and involvement regarding the actions at that time will continue to follow the individual in charge even after they leave their position. Whether they retire or transfer to a different department, they are not freed from the institutional actions of that time. This is not a threat, but a structural fact of administrative responsibility.
You must not lose the evidence under any circumstances.
This is a strong request to the authorities and, at the same time, a call to the taxpayers.
To the authorities: The seized ledgers, vouchers, contracts, PC data, emails, LINE messages, memos, and original protocols—all of these must be preserved completely, down to the very last one. Not a single sheet of paper, not a single email, nor a single line of a memo is allowed to be missing, altered, or destroyed. As long as you continue the investigation indefinitely, you have an obligation to maintain preservation indefinitely. "Location unknown due to the passage of time" or "discarded after the retention period has expired"—such excuses are structurally untenable for an organization that asserts the right to investigate indefinitely.
To taxpayers: Please also ensure the complete preservation of any materials in your possession. Emails, messages, memos, recordings, receipts, copies of contracts, records of interactions during investigations, copies of documents you were made to sign, and any relevant communication history from that time—please do not throw any of it away. Organize them by date and case, back them up, and store them in multiple locations. Materials that seem trivial at first glance may become decisive counterevidence years later.
Regarding Director-General Shimasaki's statement that "the seized items cannot be found," Regional Commissioner Kitamura has the responsibility to provide explanations indefinitely.
Taxpayers enter the "enjoyment" phase from here.
Some of you who have read this far must have noticed.
Until now, tax inspections were an arena where only the authorities controlled the time. Taxpayers were merely passive, exhausted by an endless investigation.
However, if you invert the structure, it becomes like this.
- If authorities investigate indefinitely, taxpayers also verify and pursue indefinitely.
- Even if the person in charge at the authorities is transferred, we can track everyone through the continuity of organizational responsibility.
- The authorities failing to take over the records can itself be made an issue as a serious procedural defect.
- The authorities choose to prolong it → The longer it drags on, the more evidence, allies, and arguments pile up on our side.
Time is no longer on the side of the authorities. It is on the side of the taxpayers.
In one year, the number of plaintiffs will increase. In three years, the scale of the joint lawsuit will be set. In five years, the verification work of the investigation at the time, including those in charge back then, will gain social breadth. In ten years, this will become the discussion on institutional reform itself.
This is a structure where the taxpayers gain the upper hand the moment they adopt a posture of a long-term battle rather than a war of attrition.
Speak up. Leave a record. Connect with allies. And fight the long war with excitement.
Taxpayers turn the authorities' chosen infinity completely to their advantage—you are the protagonist of that story.
Our union's policy
- 1. We will successively publish the testimonies of the parties who were subjected to the investigation, as well as those who were coerced into making statements against their will during the investigation, with their consent and after applying anonymization processing.
- 2. We will respond to the indefinite investigation with indefinite solidarity. If the tax authorities do not indicate an end date for the investigation, our union will also continue to speak out as long as the investigation continues.
- 3. Once a sufficient number of people have gathered, we will consider filing a joint lawsuit. Claims for state redress, revocation of administrative dispositions, counter-evidence in cases disputing the voluntariness and credibility of statements, and infringement of personality rights—all available legal means will be considered.
- 4. We will thoroughly pursue the continuity of organizational responsibility. The bureau director at the time, the person in charge at the time, the approval chain at the time—neither transfers nor retirements are reasons to sever the continuity of responsibility.
To those who have been targeted for investigation and have been left voiceless.
To those who have carried a heavy burden in their hearts, left feeling as though they were "made to speak" during an investigation.
You are not a "tax evader." No one has the right to treat someone who has received neither disciplinary action nor a sentence as a criminal. No one has the right to make you carry statements extracted under pressure as your own words for the rest of your life.
Our union will act to reclaim that obvious premise. And we will take back the initiative in this long-term struggle into the hands of the taxpayers.
I look forward to hearing from you.
