Aoki ‘pressed for lower fees’ after Games postponed

Takahashi may have pressed the committee to reduce Aoki Holdings Inc.’s additional sponsorship fee a er the Games were postponed in 2020,

e Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. In the latest twist in the alleged bribery case, it is suspected that Aoki Holding’s fee was lowered from an initial ¥100 million to ¥10 million.

e special investigation squad con scated Aoki Holdings meeting minutes that suggest the major menswear retailer asked Takahashi to request a discount and is examining how the reduction was decided.

e Tokyo Games were scheduled to start in summer 2020 but were postponed for a year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. In December 2020, the organizing committee announced it would extend its contracts with all 68 domestic corporate sponsors by 12 months, saying the sponsors would have to pay an additional fee.

According to sources, former Aoki Holdings Chairman Hironori Aoki, 83, expressed concerns over the fee, saying the additional ¥100 million requested by the committee was “too expensive.” He then consulted Takahashi about the amount, who said the company “doesn’t need to pay.”

Takahashi then pressed the organizing committee’s marketing bureau to reduce Aoki Holdings’ payment, the sources said.

Aoki Holdings and the organizing committee negotiated on multiple occasions, resulting in the additional fee being slashed by ¥90 million.

During a company meeting a er the agreement was reached, Aoki Holdings o cials are said to have reported: “anks to Chairman Aoki’s e orts, the additional sponsorship fee was lowered to ¥10 million.” According to the sources, these remarks were contained in the meeting minutes. (Aug. 23)