Japan: Ad Agencies Raided in Tokyo Olympic Bid-Rigging Probe

Facts

On Monday, Japanese prosecutors and the Japan Fair Trade Commission (FTC) conducted a raid, including on the headquarters of major ad agency Hakuhodo on suspicion of bid-rigging for contracts related to test events [competitions held prior to the Olympic Games] for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Three other companies — Tokyu Agency Inc., Same Two Inc., and Fuji Creative Corp. — were also searched as investigators have so far raided six out of nine companies that were awarded the procurements.
These raids come after prosecutors searched on Friday the headquarters of another ad agency, Dentsu Group Inc.
The organizing committee for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics conducted 26 biddings in 2018 to choose companies that would be commissioned to plan the test events, with successful bidders later winning contracts worth $138M for running both test and official events.
This scandal erupted after Japan's third largest ad agency, ADK Holdings, reported to the FTC that it had participated in bid-rigging for the rights to plan 56 test events. Sources to Kyodo News stated that only one company made a bid in about half of the 26 cases following arrangements made by the organizing committee.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated that it is watching Japanese investigations and hoping for "the full clarification of this case" amid growing speculations that this scandal could damage Japan's bid for the 2030 Winter Games.

Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by The Mainichi. Investigations have revealed a colossal structure to serve private interests — despite the Tokyo Games and its organizing committee personnel being considered a public event staffed by public servants. Yet, organizations including the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the organizing committee have failed to prevent bribery and probe the case, undermining the reputation of this event among the Japanese public.
Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The Japan News. In response to this scandal, Japanese sports-related organizations are rightly taking decisive steps to improve the transparency of those operating large-scale international sporting events in Japan and to restore public confidence following this bribery scandal. This also includes reviewing the selection criteria and authority of the board members of the organizing committee, as well as the ambiguity of the sponsorship contract process.