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© Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Tokyo Olympics sullied by bid-rigging, bribery trials more than 2 years after Games
By STEPHEN WADE and YURI KAGEYAMA TOKYO©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
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sakurasuki
What the party is not over yet? More suspended sentences are on the way?
Disillusioned
TIJ! Wait until the crime trail starts after the Osaka Expo.
SaikoPhysco
The Japanese Govt. is at fault as much as the companies involved. The lack of oversight and coziness with corporate Japan is excessive. The Olympic bid process along with its operation will need to be extremely transparent going forward or this will happen again and again.
AgeOfAsparagas
Surprise, surprise.
falseflagsteve
I know from a close friend that Tom Bach had sleepless night after these shenanigans were revealed.
The IOC had high expectations for Japanese integrity and honesty over every aspect of the games and feel sorely let down.
dagon
Again, name names and stop using the mealy-mouthed passive voice cowards.
That is one thing that the populist, rightist, and yes often false media has over media that attempts to be moderated and inoffensive. They let the powerful bury their crimes under ambiguity.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/06/08/national/politics-diplomacy/yoshiro-mori-tokyo-olympics-sexism/
Mori,Abe, Suga,Aso and their Japan Inc. cohorts all had their hand in the pot ; THEY are the ones sullying the accomplishments of the athletes and in a just world would be rounded up and subjected to all the abuse and punishment deserved.
MarkX
The sad thing is that many people in Japan don't look at this as a real crime, as nobody got hurt, not realizing that they are out billions of tax payer yen to pay for these crooks! White collar crime never gets prosecuted the way it should.
awomde
The IOC and integrity are two words that don't go together
falseflagsteve
awomde
Tom Bach is a kind man and a man of honour, he is also very generous and I have been a grateful recipient of his generosity a few years ago.
I can confirm that he is strict with how the IOC operates and will not stand for any form of corruption.
PTownsend
The ruling caste know the kickbacks they have recieved from the Olympics and other events are relatively small potatoes and might be willing to scaifice some lower ranking nabobs, maybe even some at Dentsu, hoping that will distract the general public and some in the media so the most powerful in the ruling caste can keep the kickbacks and profits they get fom more lucrative opportunities like the energy sector, and those will not be looked into. The rulers must have read that a relative of a former US politician got billions from Saudi Arabia, and want a payback like that.
Spitfire
This is Japan in a nutshell.
The corruption knows no bounds.
The elite escape punishment.
The man in the street has no say in the matter and is left to pick up the bill every single time.
It has been going on for years which might have been kind of acceptable when Japan was flush with cash, but now with many struggling to make ends meet and Japanese society snowballing faster down the hill something must be done. However,like always,nothing will change.
Aly Rustom
Tokyo Olympics sullied by bid-rigging, bribery trials more than 2 years after Games
Is anyone surprised?
Nailed it bro !
Chico3
I'm not surprised by this. It happens.
dagon
Unfortunately that supposed kindness and generosity has not been extended to the Japanese public paying for the spectator free Olympics put forward over their objections under pandemic conditions.
The relationship has been purely extractive , in favor of Bach and the IOC and his LDP/Japan Inc. combine cronies in actual case.
u_s__reamer
Follow the Mori!
Sanjinosebleed
The IOC should be scrutinized just as much as the Japanese govt! Both as dodgy as each other!
Pacificpilot
Greed conquers all. The appropriate Japanese term for what happened to Dentsu is called “ Bachi “.
SarcasmOnly
Japan is uber corrupt and needs a dose of real journalism.
kohakuebisu
This is good news. The longer they all stall and the more they drag this out, the longer the bad smell will remain. Its the bad smell that saved us from the same fiasco in Sapporo.
If it had been 2030, the brown envelopes would be changing hands already.
kurisupisu
The Japanese government is great at mega projects that generate many opportunities for graft and as the numerous under represented tax payers foot the eventual bill, the propensity to do it again and again (see Osaka Expo 2025)
never goes away…
Roblib
Two thumbs up to the writers for the use of "sullied" in the title. I'm guessing quite a few people had to look that up. After you live in Japan for a while you realize your native language starts deteriorating.
opheliajadefeldt
This type of rigging happens in all world sports and competitions, it would be a surprise if it did not. The world we inhabit is ruled by money, and making, how ever legally or illegally, does not really matter to those lining their pockets. It is the first thing they think of.
virusrex
One very narrow silver lining from the scandal is that people from Hokkaido got off the hook from the winter Olympics. Fortunately the guilty parties could not hide their actions long enough to deceive the public again.
masterblaster
Bribes are a deep part of Japanese culture.
Two Tokyo mayors were brought down because of bribes. It happens every day on every scale here. I remember a story some time ago with morticians bribing police to recommended their services at crashes.
The people involved in bribes don't want this to change. Even if there were harsher penalties it wouldn't stop.
smithinjapan
Get those suspended sentences ready!!
CKAI
sullied.. sounds like a smudge on the beer mug. Gets off easy everytime. Like these looters get off easy everytime.
True facts. Its gonna take a judge and a prosecutr off speed dial if you wanna stop.
All the fancy penalty is a hill a beans when the people in charge are totally unserious about big money crime.
Steven Mccarthy
It’s time for the Tammy Bach , the architect and main benefactor from all these scams to finally be charged , arrested, convicted, and sent to the gallows.!. Total scumbag.!.
Hideomi Kuze
Japan's LDP regime used Olympic as pretext to benefit large corporations with immense taxpayers money.
Same "business model" is repeated at also Expo 2025 by ruling parties and far-right party "Ishin".
Laguna
Think outside the box: Create a permanent home for the Olympics in Athens.
moonbloom
Tokyo organizers say they spent $13 billion to organize the 2020 Olympics, which were delayed a year by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a government audit suggests the expenditure might have been twice that. At least 60% was public money.
Everything the LDP touches turns this color eventually, even if it initially emits a deceptive golden sheen.
And of course Abe was overseeing and hobnobbing with the involved parties the whole way through, making ridiculous statements about how great the hosting of the games was going to reflect on Japan... instead it gave everyone a whole new perspective on how things are run here, and how shamelessly they steal the people's money.
Mark
SORRY to state this but I feel NOTHING gets done in big businesses without a Bribery.
Mark
Stay tuned more to come as things get tougher.
John
Is this a surprise? Corruption in japan is extremely wide spread and common.
starpunk
No surprise. The Japanese public said no due to the pandemic. They weren't listened to. Money talks. And covid cases rose up too, didn't they?
Was it worth it? I don't think so.