Photo/Illutration Hironori Aoki, chairman of Aoki Holdings Inc., announces the official uniforms for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics at a news conference in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward on Jan. 23, 2020. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The Tokyo District Court on April 21 handed a suspended sentence to the former chairman of a men’s apparel company who was convicted of giving bribes related to the Tokyo Olympics.

Hironori Aoki, 84, the founder and former chairman of Aoki Holdings Inc., was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, suspended for four years.

The court said Aoki’s actions “harmed society’s confidence in the fair operation of the Tokyo Games.”

It was the first court ruling in a series of corruption cases connected to the Summer Games that were held in 2021. A total of 15 people have been indicted.

The court on April 21 also sentenced Takahisa Aoki, 77, a former vice chairman of Aoki Holdings, to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years.

Katsuhisa Ueda, 41, a former executive managing director of the company, was given a one-year prison term, suspended for three years.

According to the court ruling, the three transferred a total of 28 million yen ($209,100) to Commons Co., a consulting firm headed by Haruyuki Takahashi, 79, a former board member of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee, between 2019 and 2022.

In exchange, Takahashi arranged favors for Aoki Holdings in terms of Olympic sponsorship selection, a contract to supply official uniforms for the Japanese national team, and accelerated approval for its official licensed products.

The indictment said the former Aoki executives transferred 51 million yen to Takahashi’s company between 2017 and 2022. But the charges covered only 28 million yen of the total because the three-year statute of limitations had expired for earlier payments.

Prosecutors said Takahashi, a former executive managing director of Dentsu Inc., Japan’s largest advertising agency, was known as “the leading authority in the field of sports marketing.”

Yoshiro Mori, a former prime minister who was chairman of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee at the time, entrusted Takahashi with the business of finding sponsors for the Tokyo Games.

In performing that task, Takahashi exerted his influence over Tokyo organizing committee officials who had been temporarily transferred from Dentsu, prosecutors said.

Takahashi relayed the apparel company’s requests to officials at the organizing committee as well as Dentsu, the prosecutors said.

Takahashi also set up a dinner meeting between Hironori Aoki and Mori, the prosecutors said.

The three former Aoki executives admitted to the charges.

“I was passionate that hosting an Olympics would revitalize Japan,” Hironori Aoki said during the trial. “I deeply regret that I have brought about such grave consequences as an extension of my (passion).”

The defense argued that Takahashi should take the brunt of the blame, saying he approached the company about signing a sponsorship deal for his personal gain.

The defense asked for suspended sentences for the three because they admitted to the charges and did not gain personal benefits.

Officials of major publishing company Kadokawa Corp., advertising agency Daiko Advertising Inc., another major advertising agency ADK Holdings Inc., and Sun Arrow Inc., a company that manufactured and sold stuffed dolls based on Olympic mascots, have been also indicted on charges of bribing Takahashi.

Takahashi has denied the allegations.

(This article was written by Kazufumi Kaneko and Takashi Uematsu.)

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