Tokyo Games Sponsor In Bribery Suit Got More Than 50% Discount

Business suit retailer Aoki Holdings Inc. paid 500 million yen ($3.7 million) for its sponsorship deal with the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee, less than half of what it cost other companies for similar arrangements, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday, Kyodo News reported.

Photo Insert: Aoki Holdings released a statement Wednesday in the wake of the arrests saying it would cooperate with the investigation by prosecutors.

The sources also said the same day that Haruyuki Takahashi, a former Tokyo Olympic organizing committee executive who had significant influence in sports circles, is suspected of leading the decision to select the suit company as a sponsor more than a year before the official announcement.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office's special team is investigating the case as an irregular "top-down" decision to choose a sponsor that allegedly arose from a request by Hironori Aoki, the retailer's former chairman.

The revelations came a day after Takahashi, Aoki, and two others were arrested on bribery allegations. Aoki Holdings released a statement Wednesday in the wake of the arrests saying it would cooperate with the investigation by prosecutors.

Hironori Aoki's younger brother, Takahisa Aoki, and Katsuhisa Ueda, an executive director of the firm, are also suspected of repeatedly requesting Takahashi give Aoki preferential treatment in the process of selecting sponsors from January 2017 to June 2021.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic