Housewife hid $3 million in forex gains

TOKYO (Reuters) - A financially savvy Tokyo housewife who made 400 million yen ($3.44 million) trading in foreign exchange markets was fined Friday for evading tax, a court official said.

Yukiko Ikebe, 60, got a suspended jail sentence and was fined 34 million yen after she used relatives' names to make her gains look smaller and avoid paying tax, public broadcaster NHK said.

"She felt it was unfair to have to pay tax on her gains, when she made losses some years," NHK quoted the judge as saying. "She spent the money on kimonos and jewelry."

Forex trading has become more popular in recent years in Japan, where low interest rates have led retail investors to seek new sources of profit.