Tokyo 2020 Olympics Board Member Re-arrested Over Bribery Allegations
Japanese prosecutors on Tues. re-arrested a board member of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Haruyki Takahashi, along with two other officials as part of a widening bribery investigation.
Facts
- Japanese prosecutors on Tues. re-arrested a board member of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Haruyki Takahashi, along with two other officials as part of a widening bribery investigation.
- The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office have also arrested former Kadokawa Corp executive Toshiyuki Yoshihara, and another unnamed individual, for bribing Takahashi, who served on the Executive Board of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee.
- The Nikkei newspaper reported that Takahashi was paid over 70M yen ($500K USD) by Kadokawa corp in an attempt, prosecutors suspect, to help them secure a spot as Olympic sponsors.
- Takahashi has been in custody since last month, when he was arrested on similar charges. The re-arrest means he will face a longer detention to allow prosecutors to question him further.
- The board member was formally charged on Tues. for receiving brides totalling 51M yen ($360K USD) from clothing manufacturer Aoki Holdings. The company were later picked to dress the Japanese Olympic team.
- Tokyo hosted the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics in summer 2021, after they were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The official price tag for the games was an estimated $13B USD.
Sources: Jerusalem Post, Insider Games, US News, Street Insider, and Independent.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by Japan Forward. While it is unforgiveable that a handful of companies and individuals behind the scenes were using the games for their own personal profit, we should not dismiss everything about such a successful event. Tokyo 2020 is hardly the first event to be tainted by scandal, but this is a good opportunity to protect future Olympics and prevent future wrongdoings.
- Narrative B, as provided by Japan Times. With bribery allegations against senior members of the Tokyo Olympics committee continuing to grow, this scandal is likely a setback to Japan's ambitions in pursuing the 2030 Winter Olympics for Sapporo, as well as deal a blow to Japan's international reputation.
