(Tokyo) The corruption scandal surrounding the Tokyo Olympics last year jeopardizes Japan’s bid to host the 2030 Winter Games, a senior local official warned Thursday, pleading for “the truth to come out”.
Sapporo, on the northern island of Hokkaido, was seen as the favorite to host the Winter Games for the second time, ahead of Salt Lake City and Vancouver.
But Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki believes the investigation into possible bribes in the selection of Tokyo 2021 Games sponsors threatens to derail Sapporo’s bid.
“Given the series of issues surrounding the Tokyo Olympics, it will be difficult to build momentum as it is,” Suzuki said.
“I want the truth to come to light as soon as possible. If we don’t have in-depth discussions and countermeasures to gain people’s trust, we won’t be able to get things done.”
As part of their investigation, Japanese police have arrested the former senior official of the organization of the Olympics Haruyuki Takahashi, accused of having received some 54 million yen (540,000 $ CDN) in bribes from the part of a major advertising agency and a manufacturer of “licensed products”.
He is thus suspected of having helped the advertiser ADK Holdings to win a sponsorship contract in connection with the Games and of having received in exchange 47 million yen (C$470,000).
Mr. Takahashi is also accused of having received 7 million yen (C$70,000) from a soft toy manufacturer which notably produced mascots for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics under license.
Earlier this month, the International Olympic Committee decided to postpone the selection of the host city for the 2030 Winter Games, which was originally scheduled to be chosen in the fall of 2023, citing concerns about the impact of the climate change.