On the 17th, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office arrested Haruyuki Takahashi (78), a former director of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee, on suspicion of accepting bribes. In addition, the former chairman of the men’s clothing giant “AOKI Holdings”, which was the sponsor of the tournament, suspect Hironori Aoki (83), the vice chairman and former chairman’s younger brother, Takahisa Aoki (76), and the former president of subsidiary AOKI, Ueda. Yuhisa (40) was arrested on suspicion of bribery. According to people involved, AOKI signed a contract with Commons, a consulting company headed by Takahashi, around the fall of 2017. The following year, AOKI signed a sponsorship contract with the Organizing Committee to sell officially licensed products. Takahashi is suspected of receiving a total of 51 million yen from AOKI in return for receiving a request for convenience regarding contracts for sponsors and licensed products. Takahashi joined Dentsu, a major advertising company, in 1967, and has since served as managing director and advisor. He also served as General Manager of the Sports Business Department and is known as a leading figure in the sports business in Japan. A person who knew Takahashi said about the magnitude of his influence. Former member of the Organizing Committee (former Dentsu): “Mr. Takahashi created a system for commercializing sports. The IOC and FIFA, which has overwhelming budget and power among sports organizations in the world, have been connected from the past. I have personal connections.” According to people involved, Takahashi had a strong influence as he was able to call IOC President Bach directly. Before his arrest, Takahashi told an interviewer, “The consultant contract was brought up by AOKI, and the money I received was a legitimate reward that had nothing to do with the Olympics.” On the other hand, according to people involved, Aoki, who is on the side of bribery, responded to a voluntary questioning by the Special Investigation Department before his arrest, saying, “I had high hopes for his strength as a former director.” Regarding the arrest of the former chairman and three others, AOKI Holdings commented, “We take it seriously and will continue to fully cooperate with the authorities’ investigation.” Masayuki Tamaki, a sports critic, says that the point is the position of “deemed civil servants” who are defined as staff working in the organizing committee. The directors of the Organizing Committee are stipulated as “deemed civil servants” and are prohibited from receiving any money or goods related to their duties. Masayuki Tamaki, sports culture critic: “When the organizing committee settled the accounts, we spent about 1.4 trillion yen, but more than 50% of that was taxes. Taxes from the national government and taxes from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. People who work there are treated the same as civil servants.Money received privately is recognized as a bribe.Sports is a public good.It’s public and everyone makes it. If the money that moves there is said to have “knocked over”, it can be said that it is a betrayal of the person who runs the sports or the sports organization.” There are other money flows I have. According to people involved, it is also known that 230 million yen was passed to Takahashi’s company from AOKI through a subsidiary of Dentsu in 2018. Takahashi is said to have explained to the Special Investigation Department that the 230 million yen was unpaid consulting fees in the past. The Special Investigation Department is expected to proceed with the investigation to clarify the actual situation regarding the flow of money. Following the arrest of those involved in the Tokyo Games, Mr. Inose, who was the governor of Tokyo at the time of the bid, said as follows. Governor of Tokyo at the time of the bid, Naoki Inose, member of the House of Councillors: “I think the waters of the tournament organizing committee, which lacked transparency, came out in this way,” Governor Koike said. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike: “I am aware of the news reports. This is a very unfortunate situation. We will be watching closely how the investigation progresses as a city. We were able to hold the event due to the calamity.How do you think about the impact on the legacy?) I think it’s a shame because of that.” Reported by Nobuhide Nishimae, a reporter from the Social Affairs Department. (Q. You were arrested three weeks after the house was raided. How are the prosecutors looking at the case?) When I asked a senior prosecutor about this case, he said, “The commercialization of the Olympics is It was born.” Takahashi, who was arrested, was involved in the Tokyo Olympics from the bid stage, and was in charge of collecting sponsors at the organizing committee after the event was decided. Since it costs a lot of money to hold the tournament, she was the “finisher” who collected the money from the sponsors. Takahashi is said to have had tremendous influence within the organizing committee. On the other hand, even if the officers and employees of the Organizing Committee are originally from the private sector, they are considered “deemed public servants” due to their high degree of public nature, so they are prohibited from seeking convenience in their duties. Despite the high ethical standards required at the Olympics, where a large amount of tax money was spent, the special investigation department cut into it this time because there was an opaque flow of money over the former director. (Q. What is the point of the future investigation?) Suspect Takahashi is suspected of accepting bribes. The point is whether he can prove whether he was asked to facilitate his work, accepted it, and received a bribe. Suspect Takahashi has claimed in interviews with ANN that he has not been working on the Olympics. On the other hand, according to people involved, Aoki had said, “I didn’t know that Takahashi was a ‘deemed public employee.’ I feel like I was deceived.” Whether it was actually expedient. In the future, the special investigation unit is expected to analyze the seized materials and proceed with the investigation toward indictment.
[テレ朝ｎｅｗｓ] https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp
JP2021.COM