Ex-Aoki Holdings chairman receives suspended sentence for Tokyo Olympics bribery

TOKYO - The Tokyo District Court on Friday handed down a suspended prison term to the former chairman of suit retailer Aoki Holdings Inc. for his involvement in a bribing scandal linked to the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Hironori Aoki was given a prison term of two years and six months, suspended for four years, for paying 28 million yen ($209,000) to Haruyuki Takahashi, former executive of the Tokyo Olympic Games organizing committee, to curry favor regarding the Games' sponsorship and marketing deals.

Aoki's brother Takahisa Aoki, former vice chairman of the company, and an ex-company executive, Katsuhisa Ueda, were also given suspended sentences of 18 months and one year, respectively, both suspended for three years.

Takahashi, who has been indicted four times, has been implicated in a string of bribery cases connected to the Games.

He stands accused of exerting his influence to help companies secure Olympic sponsorship contracts and deals as marketing agents for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Along with Takahashi, 14 other individuals have been indicted in the bribery scandal, which has deeply tarnished the image of the quadrennial sporting event held here after a one-year delay.