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Apothecary Diaries Manga Creator Nekokurage Indicted on Suspicion of Tax Evasion

Nekokurage (real name Erika Ikeda), the creator of the manga adaptation of The Apothecary Diaries light novels, was indicted by The Fukuoka Regional Taxation Bureau on February 29 on suspicion of not declaring approximately 260 million yen (about US$1.7 million) in income and evading about 47 million yen (about US$310,000) in taxes from 2019-2021. According to the National Tax Bureau, the tax-evaded money, which includes income earned from manga sales, was used to purchase real estate.

Nekokurage responded to the allegations on Twitter, claiming that they neglected their tax returns due to ignorance. They added that they paid the taxes and fees in 2022 as a result of not declaring the income after recieving instructions from the tax office. They have also asked a tax accountant for assistance in filing proper tax returns. Nekokurage clarified that this is a personal matter that has nothing to do with The Apothecary Diaries' original light novel series author or anyone else involved in the manga's creation.

Nekokurage launched the manga in Square Enix's Monthly Big Gangan magazine in May 2017. Square Enix published the manga's 13th compiled book volume on March 25. Square Enix Manga publishes the series in English.

Natsu Hyūga began serializing the original story on the "Shōsetsuka ni Narō" (Let's Become Novelists) website in October 2011. Shufunotomo began publishing the novels in print volume with illustrations by Touko Shino in August 2014. J-Novel Club publishes the novel series digitally.

The light novel series inspired an anime that premiered on October 21 with the first three episodes, and aired for two cours (quarters of a year). Crunchyroll streamed the anime as it airs in Japan and is also streaming an English dub. The anime is getting a second season in 2025.

Sources: Kyodo News, Nekokurage's Twitter account