The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun
Ex-Tokyo Games exec held in new bribery case
Haruyuki Takahashi — a former executive board member of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee who was arrested last month on suspicion of receiving bribes from one Games sponsor, Aoki Holdings, Inc. — was rearrested Tuesday on suspicion of receiving a total of about ¥76 million in bribes from another sponsor, major publishing company Kadokawa Corp.
e special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors O ce served the new arrest warrant on Takahashi, 78, on suspicion of bribery in return for job-related favors.
ey also arrested Kazumasa Fukami, 73, the president of a business consulting rm who is an acquaintance of Takahashi, on the same suspicion.
e prosecutors also arrested two Kadokawa executives on suspicion of giving bribes.
ey searched for evidence at Kadokawa’s head o ce in Tokyo and other locations on Tuesday.
e two bribery cases together mean that Takahashi, who was a quasi public servant through his role as an executive board member of the organizing committee, has now been arrested on suspicion of having received a total of about ¥127 million in bribes from two di erent o cial corporate sponsors of the Games. e
other company alleged to have provided bribes is the Yokohama-based menswear retailer Aoki Holdings.
e two Kadokawa o cials who were arrested on suspicion of giving bribes are former Managing Director Toshiyuki Yoshihara, 64, and Kyoji Maniwa, 63, who was then a section chief in charge of Games-related a airs.
According to the announcement by the prosecutors o ce and other sources, Yoshihara and Maniwa asked Takahashi and Fukami to provide Kadokawa with favored treatment, mainly in the selection of sponsors of the Tokyo Games.
e prosecutors allege that Takahashi and Fukami had Kadokawa transfer a total of about
¥76 million on 10 occasions into a bank account of Commons2 Inc., a Tokyo-based business consulting rm of which Fukami is the representative, from July 2019 to January 2021.
e prosecutors allege that Fukami and Takahashi received the money as bribes.
In April 2019, Kadokawa signed a contract with the organizing committee to become an o cial sponsor of the Tokyo Games in charge of books and other publication services related to the Games.
Kadokawa then was given approval for issuing o cially licensed goods, such as o cial guidebooks for the Tokyo Games, and began selling such items in April 2021.
According to sources, Kadokawa o cials contacted Fukami, who was then an executive of Dentsu Inc., a major advertising agency, and sought his advice over how the company would be able to become an o cial corporate sponsor of the Tokyo Games.
Fukami told Takahashi of Kadokawa’s request. At the time, Dentsu was the designated marketing agency of the Tokyo Games that was in charge of soliciting sponsors for the Games.
Takahashi proposed to Dentsu that a new sponsorship framework for publishing businesses be created.
And then, Takahashi asked the advertising agency to designate Kadokawa as the new
kind of sponsor, the sources said.
e special investigation squad concluded that Takahashi and Fukami had collusive ties over the alleged receipt of bribes in exchange for job-related favors.
It seems that the prosecutors also concluded that the money transfers from Kadokawa to Commons2 constituted bribery.
Also on Tuesday, the special investigation squad indicted Takahashi in Tokyo District Court on suspicion of bribery in the Aoki Holdings case.
e prosecutors allege that Takahashi received ¥51 million in bribes from Aoki Holdings from October 2017 to March this year, in exchange for favorable treatment in the company’s sponsorship contract.
e prosecutors also indicted three other suspects — Hironori Aoki, 83, founder and former chairman of Aoki Holdings; Takahisa Aoki, 76, former vice chairman of the company and younger brother of Hironori Aoki; and Katsuhisa Ueda, 40, a managing o cer of the company — on suspicion of giving the bribe. Sources said that the three admitted to the allegations. (Sept. 7)
'DIVERTING FEES'
Takahashi is suspected of proposing that Games sponsorship fees from a major publisher be diverted to an acquaintance’s consulting rm,
e Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
e special investigation squad suspects that a portion of the sponsorship fees, which are normally paid in full to the organizing committee, was diverted to Fukami on the suggestion of Takahashi.
According to investigative sources, Kadokawa is suspected of contacting Fukami after Tokyo was selected as the Games host, in a bid to become a sponsor.
A er learning about Kadokawa’s inquiries from Fukami, Takahashi is alleged to have proposed the establishment of a sponsorship category for publishing to the organizing committee and Dentsu, which was in charge of recruiting Games sponsors.
Takahashi allegedly recommended Kadokawa and another publisher as sponsorship candidates.
Takahashi is suspected of proposing sponsorship fees for Kadokawa totaling hundreds of millions of yen and having the publisher pay part of the fees to Fukami’s consulting rm.
e special investigation squad questioned on a voluntary basis a Dentsu o cial and others involved in the selection of Kadokawa as a Games sponsor.
According to investigative sources, the Dentsu o cial said Takahashi had suggested that the publisher pay money to the consulting rm. Takahashi reportedly denied the allegations. (Sept. 8)