Ex-chair of Tokyo Olympics sponsor handed suspended jail sentence

TOKYO: The former chairman of a Tokyo 2020 Olympics sponsor was handed a suspended prison sentence on Friday (Apr 21) along with two others, in the first convictions in a spiralling bribery scandal surrounding the event.

Corruption allegations have mushroomed in the aftermath of the pandemic-delayed Games, implicating major companies and damaging Japan's bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics in Sapporo.

Hironori Aoki, the 84-year-old ex-head of high-street business suit retailer Aoki Holdings, received a suspended prison term of two and a half years, a Tokyo District Court spokesman told AFP.

Aoki pleaded guilty in December to accusations that he and two colleagues bribed a Tokyo 2020 board member to secure sponsorship rights, according to Japanese media.

"These criminal acts damaged social trust in the fair operation of the Games, which attracted world attention and were important for the country," judge Kenji Yasunaga said on Friday in comments reported by Jiji Press.

Aoki, who had instructed a colleague at the time to destroy evidence, "wanted to pursue the interests of his company", the judge said.

Prosecutors had sought immediate jail for the businessman, but instead the court handed down Friday's sentence, suspended for four years.

Aoki Holdings was an official partner of the 2020 Olympics - which were held largely without spectators in 2021 because of COVID-19 - allowing the firm to use the event's logo and sell officially licensed products.

Aoki was arrested in August along with two ex-colleagues and former Tokyo 2020 board member Haruyuki Takahashi.

The two ex-colleagues also received suspended jail sentences on Friday, one for a year and the other for 18 months. Takahashi, who is facing several separate bribery charges,