TOKYO Kyodo, chairman of the major publisher Kadokawa Corp., was indicted by prosecutors on Tuesday for allegedly bribing a then-Tokyo Olympic organizing committee executive in a move that will further deepen the scandal surrounding the Summer Games last year.
In return for the company being selected as a sponsor of the games, Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, 79, is accused of giving 69 million yen $477,000 in bribes to the former executive, Haruyuki Takahashi, 78. Since his arrest on Sept. 14, Kadokawa has denied the allegation, according to the prosecutors.
The Tokyo prosecutors' special investigation squad has indicted Kadokawa adviser Toshiyuki Yoshihara, 64, and 63-year-old employee of publisher Kyoji Maniwa for colluding with the chairman in giving bribes.
According to the indictments, they allegedly deposited funds from a bank account under the publisher's name to the consulting company, Kazumasa Fukami, 73, who used to work with Takahashi in the same advertising giant, Dentsu Inc. between September 2019 and January 2021, according to the indictments.
The Kadokawa camp asked Takahashi to help the company be selected as a sponsor of the Tokyo Games, to have its sponsorship fee capped at 380 million yen at most, and to achieve the swift conclusion of a sponsorship contract.
Takahashi was arrested for allegedly receiving bribes from Kadokawa.
The publisher was named an official supporter of the games in the books and magazines publishing services sponsorship category in April 2019.
In 1945, the publisher was founded by Kadokawa's father, Genyoshi. It has diversified from an independent publishing company into an entertainment conglomerate, expanding into film and online sectors.
Business suit retailer Aoki Holdings Inc. and Daiko Advertising Inc. are also suspected of paying large amounts of money to Fukami's consulting firm.
Takahashi has been indicted for accepting 51 million yen in bribes from Aoki and being arrested for accepting 15 million yen in bribes from Daiko.