Tokyo 2020 sponsor Aoki Holdings accused of bribery
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E-mail Xinhua, August 19, 2022
Japanese business suit retailer Aoki Holdings Inc. paid less than half of what companies usually would have paid for its sponsorship deal with the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee, local media said Thursday.
Aoki reportedly paid just 500 million yen (3.69 million U.S. dollars) to secure the Tokyo Olympic sponsorship deal, informed sources said, amid a bribery scandal leading to the arrests of Haruyuki Takahashi, a former Tokyo Olympic organizing committee executive and Hironori Aoki, a former chairman of the retailer, among others.
Aoki was categorized as an "official supporter" for the Tokyo Games held in 2021, with the standard fee for a sponsor at that level being around 1.5 billion yen (11.09 million U.S. dollars), informed sources said.
Top tier sponsors paid around 15 billion yen (110.92 million U.S. dollars).
Sources said the suit retailer earmarked an additional 250 million yen (1.84 million U.S. dollars) in funds towards "strengthening athletes."
About 230 million yen (1.7 million U.S. dollars) were, however, transferred to Takahashi's consulting company.
The special team of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office suspects that Takahashi received more than 50 payments in bribes from Hironori Aoki and others between October 2017 and March this year.
Takahashi, also a former senior managing director at Japan's advertising giant Dentsu, is suspected of influencing Aoki Holdings' selection as a Games sponsor by way of a consulting firm he headed.
Tokyo prosecutors on July 26 raided Takahashi's private residence, the headquarters of Tokyo-based advertising agency Dentsu, and other sites related to Takahashi, who wielded a strong influence in both sporting and business worlds.
The prosecutors believe that he received a total of around 51 million yen (377,170 U.S. dollars) from Aoki with the contract allowing the suit retailer to use the events' emblems for business purposes and sell officially licensed products, including suits bearing the emblems.
Japanese law prohibits members of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee from accepting money or gifts related to their duties. Violating this law constitutes bribery.
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