Ex - Exec. Of Tokyo Games Reportedly Asked Aoki To Become Sponsor For 750 Mil. Yen
A former executive of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics organizing committee, now under arrest, reportedly proposed that major business suit retailer Aoki Holdings become a sponsor of the Games by contributing 750 million yen, or about 5.5 million dollars.
Takahashi Haruyuki was arrested by Tokyo prosecutors on Wednesday on suspicion of receiving about 380,000 dollars in bribes, from former Aoki Holdings Chairman Aoki Hironori and two others.
The three have also been arrested.
In October 2018, Aoki Holdings announced that it had officially become a sponsor of the Games after signing a contract with the Tokyo Games organizing committee.
Sources say Takahashi had approached the firm in January 2017 and sounded out the possibility of it becoming a sponsor for about 5.5 million dollars in corporate financial contributions.
The Aoki side agreed to the deal but the actual amount the firm later paid to the committee was only about 3.7 million dollars.
The prosecutors are investigating how the final amount was decided on.
Takahashi has denied any involvement in the decision-making. He is said to have told people around him that it was impossible for anyone to propose a sponsorship price in 2017 because companies which had offered larger contributions had been selected as sponsors.