Japan Olympic chief Takeda to announce resignation: sources

So what, just go to jail or face heavy penalties.. Our corrupt elite can get away with murder

wow I am shocked... not

Well, there is more to this story than he is talking about as he has denied wrongdoing from the start, yet now he is quitting. Hmmm....

Another day, another fraud in Japan. Another fraud that is dealt with by resignation without criminal charges. TIJ!

He is only resigning as president of the JOC, but will probably remain on the committee, well-paid of course, in case his advice and experience are required!

J-Inc and J-Gov look after their own.

I was opposed to Japan hosting the Olympics from the start - finally others realize there are too many shady goings on

Listen, I'm no fan of this guy and I hope he's prosecuted, truly... but c'mon... anyone who's ever worked in professional sports knows every single modern olympiad is bought and paid for through nefarious channels. I'm no Japan apologist and I really hate to say this but this is absolutely standard. You don't think Turkey and Spain had backpocket millionaires skimming off the top of their bidding processes? Tokyo was going to win anyway due to internal political strife surrounding the selection in Turkey and Spain was (and still is in a lot of ways) in the middle of an economic crisis. Japan was the only reasonable choice. No matter who won they will have found varying degrees of corruption and bribery. It's how this goes. Think of the Sochi Olympics... Even Rio! Compared to those Tokyo looks tame. You would have to overhaul the entire bidding process to weed this stuff out. Good luck.

Honestly I think people are just holding Japan to a higher standard here. Bureaucracy in Japan is no more or less corrupt than anywhere else in the first world. Being pissed about this is completely warranted, but being surprised is insanity.

Reckless: France being a civilized country, Takeda could very well come to France without risking his being thrown into some sort of dungeon during more than 100 days with the lights on 24/24h, no visits of his family, and interrogated without a lawyer 8 hours a day non-stop at the hands of some kempetai-minded judiciaries.

Keep investigating! His face says it all.... he is the fall guy.... Aso, the finance minster, is clearly the guy that would have paid the money since the government bribed someone.

Whoever takes over had better move the start date of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to mid-October like they did in 1964 or it will be a disaster.

They missed the part where he is a member of the royal family (Meji's great grandson). strange as it was mentioned in all other stories on JT....

I'm assuming Takeda was almost "untouchable", what with his personal relatively successful olympic history, his longtime standing in the IOC, long time head of the JOC and of course his connections to the Imperial family as  the great grandson of Emperor Meiji.

So to suddenly announce his retirement, probably means something "Bigg-ish" was about to come out, that even his position could not quell.

It could be just the US$2mill payment to Black Tidings, but likely to include other misdemeanours on his or other members behalf. The fact that the French investigation has been ongoing for a few years now, surely means that some other bits & pieces have come to the surface.

And as gogo indicated - he could be taking the fall for some other Biggie, and probably only a top politician (Aso?) would be bigger.

Or with the abdication of the emperor imminent, and the new emperor's accession soon, any scandal even remotely related to the Imperial Household would never be tolerated.

Haha yes his crime was bringing the Olympic Games to Japan! The murder, the horror! Lol

Put aside that hosting the Olympics is a huge Burden Financially and towards the locals already dealing with a huge influx of tourist.

The ends justifies the means, Japan’s idea of mitigating circumstances.

The good news is that he wasn't investigated by Japanese prosecutors. Otherwise he would be not on the stage, but in the jail.

The Japanese capital beat Madrid and Istanbul.

Enjoy your Beat!

And France to announce the extradition request ot Takeda.

Just wondering out loud. How many olympic games have there been in Japan to warrant a full time committee?? AND how many since his tenure starting in 2001??

@japanfan - the JOC is for all Olympic games, in Japan as well as overseas, as well as some involvement in regional competitions such as the Asian Games. Japan is famous (or infamous) for often having more officials than athletes in their delegation.