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Do you support Tokyo hosting the 2020 Olympics in view of the scandal concerning a $2 million payment for "consulting fees?"

26 Comments
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If you think $2mm consulting fees are high, there are people that literally bill $1000 an hour for some lucrative projects. Consultants pretty useless though, most of them are fresh out of college sent to improve the existing infrastructure of multi-billion dollar businesses.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

To be totally fair, the veracity of the claim is not totally confirmed yet. All we have is that French prosecutors say some money was sent to a bank account in Singapore, allegedly connected to a man who is friends with another man, who might be shady. Tokyo could not be convicted on such thin evidence. It is premature to ask this question and just invites those who want to put the boot in.

7 ( +8 / -2 )

I agree with Moonraker. This question is premature.

As such, the options to reply are lacking. There should be an 'I don't know yet, because we still don't know if the money was for a legitimate purpose or not'.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

I didn't support it even before the bribery scandal, so it just sort of reinforces my already existing position.

14 ( +18 / -4 )

Just the $2,000,00 bribe?

Or the logo fiasco, the stadium fiasco, the amakudari fiasco, and the attention the magic 2020 Olympics has taken away from Fukushima victims (not enough construction workers because they can make more money building the Olympics than they can housing for the homeless in Fukushima)?

I agree with rainyday; didn't support it before because of costs, don't support it now either.

18 ( +20 / -2 )

I am 100% with borscht and rainyday.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

I'd say that most "No" answers are people who opposed even before the allegations. I highly doubt people would suddenly change their minds whether they support or not "in view of the scandal" so the question is highly irrelevant. My answer was "I don't care" because I never really supported it.

The question should say "Do you support the Tokyo Olympics considering the problems occurring before the event, including the scandal, the problems that will surely occur during the event, and the problems that will most definitely exist afterwards".

3 ( +5 / -2 )

If it was just about the sport then I'd be a lot more amenable to it but with big business, corruption, cheating and so forth being increasingly a part of it I have little time or trust for the whole process. The IOC appears to be a corrupt moneymaking scam which fools countries into shovelling sizeable amounts of their wealth into a bottomless pit that feeds the IOC and the various corporates that leech of it, leaving a monstrous debt behind afterwards while people chase their tails after cheating competitors who come up with new ways to fiddle the results each time.

Tokyo is merely the latest victim. I'm just waiting for a host to suddenly come to their senses and call the IOC and their shills out. I really hope that Tokyo does it first.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

In reality what difference does it make? It's a rhetorical question and no matter what people "think" or what their "opinions" on the matter are nothing will change.

The Olympics were awarded to Tokyo, and barring an disaster, they will go on as scheduled. It could be found that all the members bribed someone, somewhere, to get the games and still they would go on as scheduled. The IOC is not going to reopen the bidding process, nor give the games to some other country.

It's an academic discussion at best, and at worst? Well each person has to decide. The rest is just a chance to vent their opinions and thoughts about corruption and BS.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Aly Rustom

>I am 100% with borscht and rainyday

Me too !

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Tokyo is merely the latest victim

I would not call Tokyo a victim in that story, nothing forced them to pay 2 million USD to a shady company for services yet to be disclosed and nothing forced them to host the game in the fist place.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Support? How about 'believe'? The more I hear about it, the more the stories change.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The bribe is just the icing on the cake. They don't deserve the Olympics for so many other reasons, most notably how much money they are wasting while people STILL waste away in shelters from the 2011 and recent natural disasters, and how they used those natural disasters and the suffering to GET the Olympics in the first place.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

@Citizen2012

I would not call Tokyo a victim in that story, nothing forced them to pay 2 million USD to a shady company for services yet to be disclosed and nothing forced them to host the game in the fist place.

Well no, I suppose that nothing forced Tokyo, the city, the people who live and work there, to pay that sort of money to a shady company etc. etc. or forced them to host the games. I doubt very much that they were even asked about it.

Unfortunately they will have to live with it, though.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

To be totally fair, the veracity of the claim is not totally confirmed yet.

Investigators visited the office of Black Tidings in Singapore, which was the company which received the $2 million payment. The office turned out to be a decrepit vacant apartment. Black Tidings appears to be a shell company created only for the sake of receiving this $2 million payment. This does not necessarily prove that a criminal act occurred, but it appears far from being an honest payment to a reputable agency.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

I have zero confidence Japan will be able to contain Fukushima radiation before it invites all these people over.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Why are people worried about an accusation that a "bribe" might have been made while we have war, genocide and famine going on in other parts of the world?

This is a false equivalency, as genocide and famine are unrelated to corruption in the Olympic bidding process. The corruption is not justified simply because there is famine and genocide in other parts of the world.

And to answer your question, ignoring the false equivalency, people are worried about the bribe, because the process is meant to be fair and impartial, and millions upon millions of dollars are spent under that expectation. So if Japan has removed this fairness and impartiality through a bribe, it means they should lose the right to host the Olympics.

And I say this as one who isn't anti-Tokyo-Olympics. I want the Olympics here. But if Japan bribed their way into them, I don't think they should have the right to host them.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

You can't have athletes competing who are tested for cheating in a games where the hosts cheated to get the games

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Will there be a 2020 Olympics? Today some Admin Body has ask for the retesting of all suspect sample results, going back to the 2008 games both summer and winter. The Body has found a better method of detection which some claim that it will see them handing out metals by the 100,s to the legal winners or place getters. Plus with bans on Russia and Kenya and the fallout which will occur from this new testing. Will there be many countries able to complete in 2020 ?

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

oh dear the poop just keeps piling up on the Tokyo Olympics, this could turn out to be an embarrassment of biblical proportions for Japan

3 ( +3 / -0 )

It may be an unpopular opinion but I say yes. My reasons being the Government would find other ways to waste the money even if they lose the Olympics. The silver lining positives I believe are it brings is the international attention and eyes to corruption and scandal in Japan. That may not get regularly reported if there was not so much focus from being a upcoming Olympic Host city. I know every World Cup or Olympics has negative news on the run up but I think some more international attention to Fukushima or the shitty sexism in Japan is a positive. Another reason is perhaps it can open a bigger internationalization to Japan. I mean the tourism increase has brought at least some small benefits like better Wi-Fi access and at least a debate on AirBnB here.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

I don't see an issue here. Every Olympic games/World Cup has some accusations of money being wasted. None of the accusations are ever proven in court, and it's not like they're war crimes. Why are people worried about an accusation that a "bribe" might have been made while we have war, genocide and famine going on in other parts of the world?

The issue is that public funds are used to pay for and promote these events, money which Japan does not have, and which it must borrow from the taxpayers. The corruption in the process greatly increases the costs in hosting the games, and increases the risk of financial loss to the host country.

Greece lost more than $14 billion hosting the 2004 Olympics. That $14 billion was looted from the Greek nation, and enriched a great number of polticians, promoters, and olympic committee members. Had corruption not influenced the decision to bid for the games, more care would have been taken to be sure the games would not result in a heavy financial loss.

The $14-odd billion that Greece lost holding the games may still end up resulting in the collapse of Greece, and possibly the EU as well.

Corruption is the main cause of poverty around the world, as well as a cause of famine and war. Corruption must not in any way be tolerated, and those who practice it must be severely punished. The cultural acceptance of corruption in the third world is the main barrier preventing developing countries from becoming developed.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

@sangetsu03

The issue is that public funds are used to pay for and promote these events, money which Japan does not have, and which it must borrow from the taxpayers. The corruption in the process greatly increases the costs in hosting the games, and increases the risk of financial loss to the host country.

I can certainly agree with this and accept your point about Greece, an especially poignant one considering that this was a country that has suffered extreme problems with their economy since then.

It was touted by the Olympic committee in London that a good reason to bring the Olympics there in 2012 was to generate income and provide new jobs. While the income was there, it was swallowed up by the extra costs required as, just as with Japan, the budget overran. The whole thing broke even which is about the only thing that you can say for it. What becomes of Rio de Janeiro's version, already padded out with Brazilian taxpayer funds, remains to be seen.

Japan called bullshit on that stadium. Good for them, but that's but a small part of what is to come. I just hope it isn't another disaster.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Remember Japan had a $4 billion fund set aside for the Olympics and with most of the infrastructure already ready, the games shouldn't cost a fortune to host. Based on the revenue that will be generated, $2 million for consultancy fees is a drop in the ocean. Bring on the Games!!

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Every olympics ever held has some kind of secret deals going on. just that this time somoene got caught.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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