According to a new report from Japan, authorities have arrested Kadokawa chairman Tsuguhiko Kadokawa. The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office sent authorities to book the executive on allegations of bribery. To be specific, the charges laid against the chairman involve the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics as Kadokawa allegedly paid off a committee member.
The report suggests the chairman paid a consultant agency nearly $500,000 USD, and the organization was run by Haruyuki Takahashi. This former Olympic executive was arrested last month on bribery charges. It is suspected Takahashi accepted bribes from companies who wanted to secure their role as a sponsor of the event.
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Over in Japan, new reports suggest Takahashi used his network of contacts to secure sponsorship awards for various clients. If the allegation is true, then Takahashi accepted a bribe from Kadokawa to make this goal come true. The scandal has also left others in the police’s way as a former Kadokawa employee named Toshiyuki Yoshihara was arrested in relation to this case. The same was done to Kyoji Maniwa, a former official with the studio. At this time, there is no word on how these three executives plead to their arrests, but we do know something.
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After all, the Kadokawa chairman told reporters in Japan the money sent to Takahashi was a “consultancy fee” and nothing more. It seems the chairman is maintaining his innocence in this case. So for now, we will have to wait and see what the legal investigation reveals moving forward.
What do you make of this surprising report? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.
