Former Tokyo Olympic official denies bribery expenses in Japanese court docket

• Haruyuki Takahashi, a former Tokyo Olympics organizing committee member, appeared in court docket on Wednesday and pleaded not responsible to expenses of accepting bribes associated to the Tokyo Video games.
• Takahashi allegedly accepted roughly $1.4 million in trade for Olympic contracts for the 2021 Tokyo Video games.
• Takahashi’s protection claimed the cash he acquired was official consulting revenue as a sports activities advertising professional.

Haruyuki Takahashi, a former Tokyo Olympics organizing committee member, appeared in a court docket on Wednesday and stated he was not responsible of taking bribes linked to the Tokyo Video games.

A former govt with the highly effective Japanese promoting firm Dents u, Takahashi is charged with accepting round $1.4 million in trade for awarding Olympic contracts for the Tokyo Video games held in 2021.

Carrying a grey swimsuit and blue tie, Takahashi sat silently whereas one among his protection legal professionals learn from a doc for about two hours earlier than a panel of three judges at Tokyo District Courtroom.

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His lawyers argued that the cash Takahashi acquired was not bribes however official consulting revenue as a sports activities advertising professional.

Haruyuki Takahashi, govt board member of the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Video games, attends the Tokyo 2020 Government Board Assembly in Tokyo, Japan. Takahashi appeared in court docket on Jan. 31, 2024, and stated he was harmless of taking bribes linked to the Tokyo Video games. (Issei Kato/Pool Picture through AP, File)

The protection additionally argued the Tokyo organizing committee had no energy to make advertising choices on sponsors or licensing, which was the realm of Dentsu, the highly effective Japanese promoting firm that headed Tokyo Olympic advertising.

The protection acknowledged Takahashi held energy with Dentsu, the place he beforehand labored. It additionally acknowledged Takahashi had shut relations with Worldwide Olympic Committee officers and others within the sports activities world.

The subsequent trial date was set for Feb. 22.

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The indictment says Takahashi acquired bribes from enterprise swimsuit retailer Aoki Holdings, writer Kadokawa and others. Solar Arrow, one of many corporations implicated, produced the stuffed toy model of the Olympic mascot, Miraitowa, and Paralympic model, Someity.

A couple of dozen folks have already been convicted in associated bribery circumstances, however all have acquired suspended sentences.

The myriad corruption investigations across the Tokyo Olympics are the newest to soil current Video games. French investigators have this yr’s Paris Olympics beneath scrutiny over how contracts are awarded.

Although the Olympics are funded partly by non-public cash, in addition they rely closely on taxpayer funding. Within the case of Tokyo, at the least 50% was public cash. Tokyo says it formally spent $13 billion on the Tokyo Video games, however a government audit says it is likely to be twice that a lot.