A former Olympic committee executive was arrested on Sept. 27 for allegedly accepting bribes from another company, this time about 15 million yen $103,800 from Daiko Advertising Inc.
This is the third time that Haruyuki Takahashi, 78, has been arrested for bribery charges over Olympic sponsorships involving apparel maker Aoki Holdings Inc. and publishing company Kadokawa Corp.
Kazumasa Fukami, 73, an acquaintance of Takahashi, who heads the consultancy firm Commons 2 Inc., was rearrested for receiving bribes.
Yoshikazu Taniguchi, 57, an executive officer of the Osaka-based Daiko, was arrested on suspicion of giving bribes.
According to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, Takahashi is suspected of having Daiko transfer approximately 15 million yen in bribes to Commons 2. It was done through four installments from January 2019 to February 2022 after the company received a request from Taniguchi to make Daiko a cooperation agency for the Games, allowing it to work as a subcontractor.
The organizing committee for the Games had commissioned the advertising giant Dentsu Inc., where Takahashi once worked, to select and obtain official sponsors.
Dentsu had outsourced some of its tasks for the Olympics to other advertising agencies, designating them as sales cooperation agencies with the approval of the organizing committee.
Taniguchi is suspected of giving around 6 million yen in bribes whose three-year statute of limitations for charges of offering bribes has yet to expire.
The prosecutors office said that Takahashi approached Dentsu, made Daiko a cooperating agency and received fees in exchange.
Prosecutors indicted Takahashi and Fukami for receiving bribes on Sept. 27 in the case involving Kadokawa.
The office also indicted Toshiyuki Yoshihara, 64, a former Kadokawa executive, and Kyoji Maniwa, 63, the former head of the company's Tokyo Games office.
Takahashi and Fukami were asked by Kadokawa Chairman Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, 79, and other officials to help Kadokawa get selected to be an Olympic sponsor, according to the prosecutors office.
Kadokawa paid 76 million yen to Commons 2 from July 2019 to January 2021, which is considered bribes, through 10 installments.
On Sept. 14, Kadokawa was arrested on bribery charges eight days after the arrests of Yoshihara and Maniwa.
Takahashi was charged with bribery after accepting 51 million yen from Aoki as a sponsor.