Ex-Tokyo Olympics official Takahashi granted ¥80 million bail in bribery case

Love the use of a wheelchair to try and garner sympathy. Just a mere few weeks ago we saw him effortlessly jumping into an expensive car to get away from the media. Didn't work for Harvey Weinstein, and it won't work for you buddy! Hope you go down for a long time, might signal a new start for Japan in dealing with corruption, but I won't hold my breath!

@Matk X

I thought the exact same thing about the wheel chair. Not so confident about him getting serious time and not some Mickey mouse suspended sentence. Hope I'm wrong.

Japan is as corrupt as the day is long. The Olympics is just one scenario that is in the public eye.

Worst Olympics in history (after 1936), only awarded in the first place due to corruption and bribery at the highest levels.

And the punchline is the taxpayer - who will continue paying for a farce they were banned from attending.

Just look at this creepy sleazebag Takahashi in his wheelchair. Pathetic.

The old wheelchair sympathy trick...... Pitiful! Give him a few years extra...Suspended of course.

Yes! The wheelchair thing!

If you want to cheat the system, you have to be more innovative than the wheelchair routine.

Maybe a neck brace! Or, a few children standing around you crying!

Anyway, I hope you go to jail for a very long time. But this is Japan.

You will just be seen on TV bowing to the masses who will say:

" ... he is bowing. He must feel bad. Let him go!"

Sad Japan.

Yep, going for the sympathy vote.

Like others I hope he gets a good long stretch but will not be holding my breath.

It is very sad that Japan has such a reputation around the world.

It's no secret that inside the Olympics, its all about money. Takahashi is not the top guy in this scandal. It will be interesting to see if they were able to use him to get to the bigger fish.

Yep. Just stopping to by to Laugh Out Loud at the wheelchair routine.

Investigate them all, and reclaim all public funds that weren't specifically used for the actual event.

But we are all innocent till proven guilty.

But we are all innocent till proven guilty

You win the comment award of the day for "Best Sarcastic Comment"

Did he take the whole wheelchair thing out of Weinstein's playbook?

Looks like he's playing the Special Olympics card.

Corruption is rife in Japan, not only the Olympics but politics and business. Most Japanese are so subservient they simply put up with it. Nice new wheelchair btw.

It's just like a kdrama. The wealthy & powerful turn up for court appearances in wheelchairs in those all the time.

Arrest Mori too and I’ll have faith. Otherwise, all these is for show. Japan prosecutors are corrupt to the bones.

Look how lame that wheelchair stunt looks! Weeeeak. Was walking alright a couple of weeks ago!

It is shameful how Takahashi is being scapegoated by the Japanese media. He was one of the key people who made the Olympics a successful event every Japanese can be proud of. The politicians knew all this stuff at the beginning so why are they only hanging out Takahashi to dry now?

was arrested in August on suspicion of receiving bribes from Olympic sponsors.

In jail for 4 months! I don't wanna hear anymore gaijin saying that ghosn was treated differently because of his ethnicity. The j-govt can, and will, hammer down the nail that sticks up, regardless of where you come from.

He was one of the key people who made the Olympics a successful event 

you are joking, you have to be joking, no spectators, athletes in lock down! Massive corruption how can it be a successful event? If you work for Detsue ok it was a successful event but if you had to pay for it, not so much.

That wheelchair might make the courts want to suspend his sentence even more than usual.

He was one of the key people who made the Olympics a successful event every Japanese can be proud of. 

He was one of the crooks who made Tokyo 2021 an embarrassing, empty, graft-riddled farce that Japanese are ashamed of.

Fixed it.

Received at least 196 million Yen under the table.

Bail set at 80 million.

And they say crime doesn't pay.

(at least enough for a shiny new wheelchair)

Takahashi is pulling a (Harvey Weinstein). He is signaling to his buddies to give him a suspended sentence because he will expose them too!

Takahashi wants to just resign and walk away like Shinzo Abe did when he was involved in his corruption scandals!

Pretty sure our friend Takahashi wasn't being hauled around in a wheelchair before his indictment. Seems to be a trend these days when you are facing criminal charges as a way for defense teams to seek leniency as their client is frail and may not have much time left.

Was this guy in a wheelchair before, or is this a "sudden" illness?

I find it interesting that over the past decades from Shin Kanemaru all the way to today.

It is amazing how these corrupt officials and powerful people suddenly are too sick to stand trial.

It is like a go to plan.

Wheelchair, oxygen tank, charges get dropped or suspended until they get better which they never do.

The state of Japan is truly a dark place…

Was this guy in a wheelchair before, or is this a "sudden" illness?

He was pretty upright when the allegations were first reported!

He was quite fit on the day of his arrest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WKT0nloI4M

A guilty person always use wheelchair and pretend to be sick.

Harvey Weinstein another wheelchair rider!

A guilty person always use wheelchair and pretend to be sick.

Another connected politician Shinzo Abe played the sick card to step down as PM, twice.

Does this mean that he was twice as corrupt as the average politician/businessman?

All of this went down during Abe's reign.

When the Olympics didn't come off as expected Abe said he was feeling unwell and resigned before any of this became known.

...leaving the mess for Suga and Kishida to clean up.

Oh dear! We sympathize with you for being confined to a wheelchair. (sarcasm) I’m sure this dude can walk.

"I’m sure this dude can walk." REAL Talk!" tryin to play that old dusty handicapped card for his brethrens sympathy. Since he cant play that old "I was drunk and don't remember" card.