Aoki Allegedly Showed List Of Requests To Tokyo Games Ex - Executive
Aoki Holdings, a major business wear retailer, is suspected of having shown a document containing a list of requests tied to its sponsorship of the Tokyo Games to a former board member of the Games' organizing committee.
The former executive of the organizing committee, Takahashi Haruyuki, headed a company that received large sums of money from Aoki Holdings. The two companies signed a consulting contract in 2017.
The following year, Aoki Holdings was chosen to be a sponsor of the Olympics and Paralympics. That enabled the company to sell officially licensed merchandise, such as suits adorned with Olympic emblems.
Prosecutors suspect the consulting fees actually constituted a bribe paid in return for favors.
Takahashi was formerly an executive official at Dentsu, a major advertising agency.
Investigative sources say executives from Aoki, including the company's former chairman, Aoki Hironori, allegedly showed the document containing requests -- such as speeding up a review of officially licensed merchandise that the apparel firm planned to sell -- to Takahashi at a restaurant in Tokyo.
During voluntary questioning, Takahashi reportedly said that he was shown the document but hadn't seen it closely, and that he didn't remember its contents. He denied he had received requests from Aoki Holdings.
Sources say that in addition to the already known payment of 45 million yen, or about 330,000 dollars, a total of 230 million yen, or about 1.7 million dollars, was paid by Aoki to Takahashi's firm in 2017 and 2018.
Takahashi reportedly told prosecutors that the payments were for consulting fees for golf businesses and donations to sports organizations.