Arrested ex-Tokyo Olympic exec may have been asked to favor Kadokawa Corp

Sep 04 (Japan Today) - Haruyuki Takahashi, a former Tokyo Olympic organizing committee executive arrested in a bribery case involving a sponsorship contract for a clothes retailer, may also have been asked to favor publishing company Kadokawa Corp, a source familiar with the matter said Saturday.

The publishing company gave 70 million yen to an entity run by his acquaintance and prosecutors are looking into why the money was paid and whether all or part of the amount was transferred to anyone, the source said.

The sum given to the entity was described as a consulting fee after the publisher became a sponsor for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in April 2019, which enabled it to publish the Summer Games' official guidebooks and records.

According to the source, the acquaintance may have asked Takahashi to help Kadokawa be chosen as a sponsor.

Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, the publishing company's chairman, told Kyodo News in August that he did not know whether the company was being investigated by prosecutors.

Takahashi, 78, is also suspected of receiving bribes totaling around 51 million yen from the clothing retailer Aoki Holdings Inc., in exchange for preferential treatment in the process of selection as an Olympic sponsor. ...continue reading

Source: ANNnewsCH

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