Publishing executive found guilty in Tokyo Olympics bribery scandal, but avoids jail time

An enforcement astatine Japanese publishing location Kadokawa was recovered blameworthy Tuesday of bribing a erstwhile Tokyo Olympics organizing committee member.

Toshiyuki Yoshihara, charged with paying $463,000 to Haruyuki Takahashi, was fixed a two-year situation sentence, suspended for 4 years.

That means helium avoids prison, arsenic agelong arsenic helium doesn’t interruption the instrumentality successful the adjacent 4 years.

Tokyo District Court Presiding Judge Yoshihisa Nakao said Yoshihara wanted Kadokawa to person an borderline successful becoming a sponsor, which helium believed would heighten its marque power.

“The content successful the fairness of the Games has been damaged,” Nakao said, stressing Yoshihara knew the payments were amerciable and sought to disguise them arsenic consulting fees.

The punishment was suspended due to the fact that Yoshihara had expressed remorse, and his woman had promised to ticker implicit him, Nakao said.

Yoshihara said, “Yes,” once, successful accepting the verdict, but different said nothing, and bowed repeatedly arsenic helium near the courtroom.

The verdict for Yoshihara, arrested past year, was the latest successful a bid of bribery trials implicit sponsorships and licensing for products for the Tokyo Games.

Kadokawa Group was chosen arsenic a sponsor and published the Games programme and guidebooks.

The ballooning ungraded has marred the Olympic representation successful Japan, denting Sapporo’s bid for the 2030 Winter Games.

An authoritative announcement connected the bid is expected Wednesday, aft the politician meets with Japanese Olympic Committee President Yasuhiro Yamashita, a judo golden medalist and IOC member, a Sapporo metropolis authoritative said.

At the halfway of the ungraded is Takahashi, a erstwhile enforcement astatine advertizing institution Dentsu, who joined the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee successful 2014, and had large power successful arranging sponsorships for the Games.

Takahashi says helium is innocent. His proceedings is yet to begin.

Fifteen radical astatine 5 companies look proceedings successful the bribery scandal.

The different companies are Aoki Holdings, a covering institution that outfitted Japan’s Olympic team, Daiko Advertising Inc., Sun Arrow, which made the mascots, and ADK, an advertizing company.

An authoritative astatine a advisor institution called Amuse was fixed a suspended condemnation successful July aft being convicted of helping Takahashi person bribes in instrumentality for a portion of the money.

Given the assorted allegations, the wealth that went to Takahashi totaled immoderate $1.3 million.

In Tuesday’s trial, Yoshihara was accused of moving with Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, a apical authoritative astatine Kadokawa, the lad of the laminitis and a large fig successful Japan’s movie and amusement industry, arsenic good arsenic with Kyoji Maniwa, different elder authoritative astatine Kadokawa.

Maniwa, accused of depositing the wealth to Takahashi’s account, was fixed a suspended condemnation successful June. Tsuguhiko Kadokawa besides faces trial.

In April, Aoki’s laminitis Hironori Aoki and 2 different institution officials were convicted of handing $188,000 successful bribes to Takahashi and received suspended sentences.

In July, the erstwhile caput of ADK, Shinichi Ueno, was fixed a suspended condemnation aft a condemnation of paying $94,000 to Takahashi.

The organizing committee members, arsenic quasi-public officials, are forbidden from accepting wealth oregon goods from those seeking favors.

Those receiving bribes are mostly fixed harsher verdicts successful Japan than those paying them.

The Tokyo Games were postponed until 2021 due to the fact that of the coronavirus pandemic.