The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.
© Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Court finds consultant guilty of taking bribes over Tokyo Olympics
By YURI KAGEYAMA TOKYO©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
32 Comments
Login to comment
BertieWooster
Whether he did it under orders or not, he still did it.
Double standards!
Moonraker
The old white-collar crime verdict. It's a worldwide phenomenon, in case we imagine it is special to Japan. And yet, according to research from Finland, "prison sentences for financial crimes work. They reduce reoffending by nearly 50% in the three years after sentencing – a big deal given that reoffending rates are high. And they have a wider deterrent effect: prison sentences reduce the probability that a fraudster’s colleagues will commit financial crimes. When it comes to tackling tackling fraud, perhaps deterrence is our best form of attack." The bigger take-home is that fraud, financial crime, bribes, corruption etc are rife, despite the best efforts of media to paint these as one-offs.
dagon
Apparently the damage to the public weal and the treasury was not worthy of any punishment.
As has been the case for all the parade of all the Olympic perps.
I wonder if that strategy would work for much more serious crimes, like filching from temple donations boxes when you are hungry or uploading a summary of a copyright protected movie.
BigP
It’s seems that there are different standards for white collar financial crimes than for us plebs.
falseflagsteve
'Tom 'Bach will be even more furious about this. How; this doesn’t scupper the Sapporo’s chance for Winter Olympics, it’s very important to me. My partners cousin can benefit well from that if they win and no doubt my partner mad I will also have a few drinks from it.
englisc aspyrgend
Let’s be honest who seriously is shocked that the Olympics were riddled with corruption. It’s the IOC for heaven sake.
Dango bong
Mori was head of it all, when will he be charged?
titin
God. If you really need to get involved in nasty business, at least do it for millions of US dollars, not for a few year’s worth of an average middle class salary.
Mark
""Matsui was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for four years."" YUP, money talks and BS walks.
sir_bentley28
I wonder what's the difference in the treatment of these CEOs in this case and that one that got away? Were they handcuffed?
Mr Kipling
Is there anyone involved in the Olympic bidding process that is not involved in pay offs, bribes or back handers?
It does not seem like it. Not only Japan, this is just usual Olympic way.
diobrando
Again suspended sentence and they dare to call that justice...
diagonalslip
before I read the article and comments, let me guess...... suspended sentence.
falseflagsteve
Mr Kipling
Tom Bach has never taken money from fiends and thugs. He is beyond reproach and an honest, kind and generous man. My chum in Koln worked promoting the IOC and due to Tom’a kindness I stayed at a lovely hotel in Koln for a weekend with free accommodation and complimentary food and drinks the whole time at a local brewery. People who work hard and do well who are generous are not necessarily crooks
Sanjinosebleed
Wonder if Mori will be running the Sapporo Olympics...seems only right since he has got away with this one Scott free and already has his bank account s set up...so corrupt it is laughable!
ifd66
So what's the point of the court system here?
Speed
Like everyone above, I'm absolutely frustrated with no punishment for stealing thousands of dollars by white collars.
Guaranteed, if you or I went down to the convenience store or city office and stole a couple of hundred dollars, you'd be sitting in a metal cell.
Jim Dandy
ahh a scapegoat gets a hand slap, the whole crew was in on it.
opheliajadefeldt
If he was in the USA he would have been sentenced to a 3yr job in Wall St.
garypen
I wonder what Takahashi is getting for jumping on the grenade to save all the other corrupt JOC committee members who accepted bribes and favors.
Norm
Totally agree. Good ol’ Tom must be double-plus furious and super embarrassed at all this grifting and grafting going on under his watch.
Doin Te Mahi
In some cases when businesses are found to have broken some kind of law in Japan, a suspension of business notice is given to that company, which can lead them to going out of business as cash flow is disrupted. I wonder if the companies like Dentsu involved in this bribery scandal will be subject to such a notice if found guilty. I guess that is the big "if".
shogun36
What are they even doing? It's been two years already, maybe more.
Are they going through each accused, one by one? Having the next trial only after the first is finished?
This will take decades.
Mori won't even be alive by the time they get to him.
Rodney
No bribery, on progress. It’s a world competition
wtfjapan
any of us minions and wed be in hostage justice until we confessed, guilty or not
smithinjapan
A suspended sentence?!? Who'd a thunk it?
tora
I never even understood what the term "suspended sentence" meant.... If no jail time, then why not, "off Scott free"?
Doublespeak?
tora
Scot free. Ooops
wanderlust
The IOC, FIFA, and other global sport organisations with huge, non-transparent budgets and linked to television/ broadcasting and sponsorship seem very susceptible to leaders abusing their positions for monetary gains. Since 1998...and no real change.
Steven Mccarthy
Time to get Bach .!.
Nuno Teixeira da Cunha
This suspended prison sentences look like atributed to family members, like as saying next time do it but without being noticed, meanwhile judges send to prison people fron disfuntional backgrounds for minor crimes, probably also send to prision entrepeneurs who miss to pay vat. This news is warning people that power holds only other power people, judges aren't shame of it .