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Ex-Tokyo Olympics official pleads not guilty to taking bribes in exchange for Games contracts

20 Comments
By STEPHEN WADE and YURI KAGEYAMA

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20 Comments
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About a dozen people have already been convicted in related bribery cases, but all have received suspended sentences.

Which means a conviction is recorded for the prosecutors but nobody goes to jail. A performance win-win all round, with the judges getting to pretend they are authoritative too.

Looks like Takahashi is gonna tough it out with his not guilty plea, rather than express - though no feel - remorse, which is interesting. Is there something else going on here?

3 ( +8 / -5 )

Ex-Tokyo Olympics official pleads not guilty to taking bribes in exchange for Games contracts

Will he get the de riguer suspended sentence?

Or has he lost some social cache and must be made the scapegoat for the whole mess?

Tune in soon

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

How do you hide 198 million in cash? Tatami?

4 ( +9 / -5 )

Doesn’t Japan have a 99% conviction rate?

Takahashi is guilty then

What will be the sentence?

0 ( +7 / -7 )

“It was strictly business and it was not a bribe.”

Sounds like he's saying "This is how we do things around here."

Bribery and corruption are inherently part of how these people operate.

6 ( +10 / -4 )

Now that’s a face you can trust! Never taken a. Rube in my life mate! Promisuuuu!

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Doesn’t Japan have a 99% conviction rate?

Yeah, but that missing 1% is largely reserved for the 1%, i.e. people worthy of being bribed to the tune of gazillions.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Takahashi is guilty then

What will be the sentence?

The suspended one. As usual.

-7 ( +6 / -13 )

Salary bonus in his next job

What will be the sentence?

-6 ( +5 / -11 )

He's guilty. Take your punishment.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

And how did Mori plea??? Oh wait that's right he was never investigated even though he admitted to taking a few mill here and there...

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Bit slow aren’t they? Would’ve thought the’d have given him a suspended sentence by now. Come on! Cut to the chase! /s

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

“It was strictly business and it was not a bribe.”

Precisely sums up the entire Olympic process. Corrupt.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

Yeewwwwwww!! was this the best photo of him you could find. Judging by that face it says .....up yours, I will do what I like, take bribes.......and get away with it.........and he will.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I'm not one to judge a book by the cover, but ...

in this picture he looks exactly like the person who would take a bribe.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Ex-Tokyo Olympics official pleads not guilty to taking bribes

Yeah, that pic of him really defines "on the take" as far as I'm concerned.

Does any other pic of this guy exist?

You know, one where it DOESN'T look like he would slit his grandmother's throat for a ten yen coin?

One that doesn't haunt the living hell out of even the most cruelest of souls?

I'd like to see the video of him pleading not guilty.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

CapuchinToday  08:23 am JST

“It was strictly business and it was not a bribe.”

Sounds like he's saying "This is how we do things around here."

Bribery and corruption are inherently part of how these people operate.

The Tokyo Olympics for 2020 were cancelled for a reason. Holding them the following year was a mistake. It caused great hardships, got many people sick from Covid, created even more stress for medics, all this for the prestige. It got Abe to resign in disgrace. Was getting all that yen worth all that? I don't think so.

The pandemic isn't completely over yet.

shogun36Today  02:00 pm JST

Ex-Tokyo Olympics official pleads not guilty to taking bribes

Yeah, that pic of him really defines "on the take" as far as I'm concerned.

Does any other pic of this guy exist?

You know, one where it DOESN'T look like he would slit his grandmother's throat for a ten yen coin?

One that doesn't haunt the living hell out of even the most cruelest of souls?

I'd like to see the video of him pleading not guilty.

He's sweating bullets isn't he? His guilt is all over his face.

Chico3Today  08:37 am JST

He's guilty. Take your punishment.

His actions caused many people to get sick and require medicine, literally. Now he needs to take his figurative 'medicine'.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Though the Olympics are funded partly by private money, they also rely heavily on taxpayer funding. In the case of Tokyo, at least 50% was public money. Tokyo says it officially spent $13 billion on the Tokyo Games, but a government audit says it might be twice that much.

Therein lies all of the problems. Certain members of Japan are allowed to use public money for investment and then allowed to keep whatever gains are made and pass on any losses to the public. They are also excerpt from any meaningful consequences.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Moonraker: "Which means a conviction is recorded for the prosecutors but nobody goes to jail. A performance win-win all round, with the judges getting to pretend they are authoritative too."

I don't know... this guy has done a few things you NEVER do, even for business execs. In particular, he's made it more difficult for them to get/give bribes in future contests. That's a big faux pas.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

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