Event Biz Ex-Exec Found Guilty over Tokyo Games Bid-Rigging

Tokyo, July 15 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese court Wednesday found a former executive of an event business guilty of violating the antimonopoly law by rigging bids linked to the Tokyo Summer Olympics and Paralympics held in 2021. Tokyo District Court sentenced the 66-year-old former executive, Masahiko Fujino, to one year and eight months in prison, suspended for three years. It also imposed a fine of 250 million yen on the company, Fuji Creative Corp., as demanded by prosecutors. The defense had pleaded not guilty. Presiding Judge Shoji Miyata said that Fujino’s decision to participate in the bid-rigging was made for the company’s benefit but that it was “an easy choice.” Fujino “cannot escape criticism,” Miyata also said. But the judge decided to suspend the sentence, given that the defendant had to consider the wishes of the organizing committee and the industry leader involved. In past court hearings, the prosecution said that seven companies, including Fuji Creative, had shared an intent to rig bids through a 59-year-old former senior official of the Games organizing committee, whose guilty verdict in the case has already become final. The prosecution also stated that Fujino and Fuji Creative joined the bid-rigging because the former organizing committee official showed his intent to make Fuji Creative the prospective contractor for judo and volleyball events. The defense said that Fuji Creative was unaware that adjustments to preselect contract winners were taking place. The company had not been shown lists of prospective winners prepared by relevant people including the former organizing committee official, the defense also said. In the case, six companies, officials from the companies and the former organizing committee official were indicted, with four companies and four individuals already ruled guilty. Of the four companies, advertising giant Dentsu Group Inc. saw the decision to fine the company 300 million yen finalized by the Supreme Court. Same Two Inc., an event company whose trial is underway at Tokyo District Court, is set to receive its verdict in September. According to the ruling, Fujino conspired with the former organizing committee official and others to predetermine companies that would receive orders for operations such as test events and actual tournaments between around February and July 2018. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]