Japan makes arrests on bribery suspicions in Tokyo Olympics

“Haruyuki Takahashi, a former executive at advertising company Dentsu, is suspected of receiving bribes from the former head of Aoki Holdings Inc. and two company employees,” the prosecutors’ office said.

August 17, 2022 02:19 pm | Updated 02:19 pm IST - TOKYO

Representational image only.

Representational image only. | Photo Credit: AP

A former Tokyo Olympics organising committee board member and three people from a clothing company, which was a surprise sponsor of the 2020 Games, were arrested on bribery suspicions on August 17.

“Haruyuki Takahashi, a former executive at advertising company Dentsu, is suspected of receiving bribes from the former head of Aoki Holdings Inc. and two company employees,” the prosecutors’ office said.

The company that makes affordable business suits was a surprise pick to dress the Japanese Olympic team, when other nations had top fashion brands designing athletes' outfits. Aoki is linked with Japan’s so-called “recruit suits” that youngsters fresh out of school wear for job interviews and their first jobs.

The bribery is believed to be linked to sponsorship of the Games and products related to the Olympics. Although corruption at top places among Olympic officials had long been rumoured, the arrest comes as a blow to Japan’s Olympic ambitions.

Takahashi is credited with landing $3 billion in local sponsorships for the Tokyo Games. Japan also is pursuing the 2030 Winter Olympics for Sapporo.

Aoki said it was still looking into the matter and did not have immediate comment. The Japanese Olympic Committee was not immediately available for comment. Japanese media reports said Takahashi denied wrongdoing, stressing he was paid for consulting services.

Tokyo played host to the Tokyo Games with much fanfare, as well as criticism, in summer 2021. The event was postponed for a year and held with no public ticket sales because of the coronavirus pandemic.

That came as a disappointment, as the Games were supposed to have drummed up tourism revenue, and put the spotlight on Japan’s prowess in a similar way as did the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

The official price tag for the latest Tokyo Games was $13 billion, mostly public money. That was double the initial estimate when the International Olympic Committee awarded Tokyo the Games, but less than the $25 billion some had predicted.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.