TOKYO OLYMPICS CORRUPTION - PART 1

 Olympics corruption Former board member explains "AOKI introduced to former chairman Mori" Mori denies meeting

Haruyuki Takahashi, a 78-year-old former director of the organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, who was arrested on suspicion of bribery in a corruption case involving the selection of sponsors for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, explained to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors' Special Investigation Department that he had introduced AOKI Holdings (HD) to former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who was the chairman of the organizing committee. He said that the timing may have been before AOKIHD was selected as a sponsor, but said, "I have not asked former Chairman Mori to support AOKIHD."

Former Prime Minister Mori served as chairman from the inauguration of the organizing committee in January 2014 until February 2014, when he resigned over misogynist remarks. The former board member is said to have explained that there was a meeting with former chairman Mori and former AOKIHD chairman Hironori Aoki (83) = arrested on suspicion of bribery = and the Special Investigation Department seems to be carefully investigating the circumstances that introduced him to former Prime Minister Mori.

HARUYUKI TAKAHASHI - JAPANESE BUSINESSMAN AND EX OLYMPICS DIRECTOR

Sponsor selection, de facto authority to former directors Investigation of the flow of sponsorship money

The corruption scandal over the selection of sponsors for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games has been one week since the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors' Special Investigation Division arrested Haruyuki Takahashi (78), a former member of the organizing committee of the Games, on suspicion of bribery, and three executives of AOKI Holdings (HD), including Hironori Aoki (83), on suspicion of bribery. The Special Investigation Department is proceeding to clarify the actual situation of "official authority" that is essential for proving bribery charges, and is also interested in the flow of sponsorship fees (sponsorship money) and the background of additional payments.

TOKYO DISTRICT PUBLIC PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE BUILDING

Contract period, widely investigated

The former director was arrested on the 17th for accepting bribes totaling 51 million yen from AOKIHD in the form of consultant fees in October 2017 ~ March this year. The crime of bribery requires proof that there has been some kind of request (request) in relation to the job. The Special Investigation Department took a wide period of time from January '17 to June '21, just before the start of the Olympics, and depicted that AOKIHD requested various accommodations from the former director regarding sponsorship contracts and other matters.

According to the officials, preliminary coordination between the former board member and the former chairman began in January '17, about one year and nine months before the official decision was made regarding the selection of AOKIHD's sponsor.

Brand scarred by founder arrest AOKI suit? Don't wear it anymore?

AOKI Holdings (HD), a major men's clothing company, has had its founders and executives arrested in a corruption case involving the selection of sponsors for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. If the brand image deteriorates only for companies that handle "game clothes" worn at life milestones such as ceremonial occasions, it will hurt their business performance. How do AOKI suit users perceive the incident? I went to the store.

Job hunting suit "unlucky"

"I don't want to benefit the people who are sucking the juice." On the 23rd of this month, a 20-year-old man in his third year at Waseda University, who is about to start job hunting, spoken up. There is an AOKI store near the university. However, he insisted, "I don't buy recruit suits at AOKI, I buy them elsewhere."

AOKI is dressed in suits, shirts, ties, and coats. He has been focusing on supporting job-hunting students, such as introducing how to write an entry sheet and how to dress to make a good impression on the interviewer. However, shoppers at a store in Waseda, Tokyo, were hesitant to buy a job-hunting suit from the company that caused the incident, saying, "The job hunting suit of the company that caused the incident is not auspicious."

A woman in her 50s who lives nearby where she bought her jacket also said, "AOKI's image has deteriorated when she learned about the incident," and said of the clothes she bought, "I'm not going to wear it outside; I'll wear it in my room."

AOKI - One of the largest clothing brand of Japan

It was a longed-for wedding

AOKI famous for its suits. In fact, he is also involved in the bridal business "Anniversal". What are the thoughts of customers who face the sunny stage of life?

A 31-year-old female office worker who was scheduled to have a wedding in October at a ceremony hall operated by an AOKI subsidiary in Tokyo visited the ceremony hall to match her costume after the incident was discovered. He has been longing for this ceremony for a long time. However, the person in charge did not explain the incident. The woman said, "I didn't know that the parent company was AOKI, and I didn't care."