New arrest warrant for Tokyo Olympics official Takahashi

TOKYO Kyodo Prosecutors served a fresh arrest warrant Tuesday on Haruyuki Takahashi, a former Tokyo Olympic organizing committee executive, for accepting bribes from an advertising agency in a scandal over the selection of Summer Games sponsors.

Prosecutors suspect Takahashi and an acquaintance received 15 million yen $104,000 in bribes from Daiko Advertising Inc. in exchange for asking the organizing committee to use the Osaka-based firm as an agent for a major English conversation school operator, which became a sponsor of last year's sporting event in September 2018, a source close to the matter said.

The Special Team of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office also arrested Daiko corporate officer Yoshikazu Taniguchi for allegedly bribing Takahashi and Fukami. Prosecutors had searched Taniguchi's house in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture earlier in the day.

Takahashi was arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes of around 51 million yen from business suit retailer Aoki Holdings Inc., and was arrested for accepting 76 million yen from major publishing company Kadokawa Corp. in exchange for helping them land sponsorships.

The prosecutors believe that the money transferred from the advertising agency to a consulting firm run by Kazumasa Fukami, the acquaintance of Takahashi, amounts to bribes for Takahashi.

Fukami was arrested for allegedly conspiring with Takahashi to allow the latter to receive a bribe from Kadokawa through his consulting firm.

Prosecutors believe Takahashi, 78, a former senior managing director at Japan's largest advertising agency, Dentsu Inc., has had a significant influence on the organizing committee's marketing division.

Many Dentsu employees were working on loan, which was responsible for selecting sponsors for the games.

In the widening bribery scandal, the prosecutors are probing whether Takahashi lobbied the organizing committee to extend favors to Sun Arrow Inc. over the sale of merchandise for the sporting event. It said that around 8 million yen were provided by the Tokyo company to Takahashi.

Takahashi has also been accused of having requested that major ad agency ADK Holdings Inc. be engaged to act as an agent for a sponsor.

The Olympics and the Olympics were originally planned to be held in 2020 but were postponed by one year due to the coronaviruses.