Prison sentences suspended over Tokyo 2020 corruption scandal

Two former officials of a corporate sponsor of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games received suspended prison sentences by Japanese courts on Thursday, as part of a major corruption scandal surrounding the event.

The matter began to erupt last summer in Japan, a year after the Games were finally held in 2021 and were largely closed due to the pandemic, and overshadowed Sapporo’s (northern) candidacy for the 2030 Winter Olympics.

Shigeharu HisamatsuThe 64-year-old former head of Japanese advertising agency ADK was sentenced to 18 months in prison, a Tokyo court spokesman confirmed to AFP on Thursday.

Your former collaborator Toshiaki Tada61, received a suspended sentence of one year in prison.

At their first hearing in March, the two men did not challenge the corruption practices of a member of the Games’ organizing committee of which they were accused.

They were arrested in October along with the former president of ADK, shinichi ueno.

According to local media, Mr Ueno admitted in court in February to paying the equivalent of around 100,000 euros to Haruyuki Takahashia former member of the organizing committee for the Tokyo Games who pleaded not guilty, according to the press.

The first verdict in this scandal was handed down last month against the former president of Japanese business suit chain Aoki Holdings, which is also an Olympic sponsor.

Hironori Aoki84, received a 30-month suspended prison sentence.

Several other companies in the country have been affected by the matter which has affected Sapporo’s bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics.

The President of the Japanese Olympic Committee, Yasuhiro Yamashitasaid last month that it would be “difficult to move forward” for Sapporo “without gaining people’s understanding.”