According to the agency's list of the top 100 taxpayers, Tatsuro Kiyohara, 46, paid about ¥3.69 billion. He is estimated to have earned about ¥10 billion, mostly in remuneration based on the brisk performance of the investment fund he managed.

Kiyohara, who has been working for Tower Investment Management Co. since 1998, is the first corporate employee to top the list since the agency began publicly announcing taxpayers' names and tax amounts in 1984.

The No. 1 position has been monopolized by top corporate managers. Kiyohara, whose employer offers rewards based on the performance of the investment funds managed by each worker, was eighth on the top 100 list last year.

The list reflects the economy's improvement as the number of those paying ¥1 billion or more in income tax increased to six from two in the 2003 list.

Sei Saito, 60, a former chairman of the consumer credit company Wide Corp., was in second place. He paid ¥1.2 billion in income tax, followed by Tadashi Yanai, 56, chairman of Fast Retailing Co., which runs the Uniqlo casual clothing store chain. He paid ¥1.08 billion.

The Japan Times Weekly: May 21, 2005
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