Wow!!! That's crazy! Oh my goodness $250,000 is a lot of money in taxes... I can't even imagine how much he actually made in profit if his tax owed really is that much. I think it's important for business people to really understand the laws and abide by them. It's a shame that no one advised him of this financial matter. I don't know how it all works in Japan however I do know that here in the states most rich people simply spend their time/money donating to charities to help write-off their taxes.