TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A bribery scandal engulfing last summer’s pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games has thrown a dark cloud over Sapporo’s 2030 bid and raised fresh questions in Japan about hosting the Olympics again.
Former Tokyo 2020 executive Haruyuki Takahashi was arrested on suspicion of bribery in August and more allegations were leveled against him last week in a widening investigation into corruption at the heart of the Games.
The scandal comes at a bad time for the northern Japanese city of Sapporo, which is bidding to host the 2030 Winter Olympics.
Sapporo staged the Games in 1972 and is seen as a frontrunner despite competition from Vancouver and Salt Lake City.
Sapporo mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto and Japanese Olympic Committee president Yasuhiro Yamashita were scheduled to visit International Olympic Committee headquarters in Lausanne to talk up the bid later this month.
The delegation last week canceled the trip, with Yamashita blaming a scheduling issue.
Akimoto said that it had “nothing to do with the bribery case surrounding the Tokyo Olympics.”
But the controversy has topped the headlines in Japan’s leading newspapers and prosecutors have carried out fresh raids in recent days.
Takahashi, a 78-year-old former senior managing director of Japanese advertising giant Dentsu, is suspected of accepting bribes in return for helping companies become official Tokyo Games sponsors.
Former and current executives from business suit retailer Aoki Holdings and major publishing firm Kadokawa have also been arrested.
