Investigators questioned Takeda over a payment of US$2.1 million to a Singapore company which allegedly swayed African countries to electing Tokyo’s bid
TOKYO – Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda announced Tuesday that he would step down at the end of his term in June, in the face of corruption allegations that have cast a shadow over the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
“I am extremely sorry for causing the trouble for the public,” he told a news conference. “For the future of the JOC, it is appropriate for me to leave and have a new young leader, who will shoulder the next generation, take over and pave way for the new era.”“I don’t believe I’ve done anything illegal,” he said, according to Reuters, defending his decision not to step down immediately.
Some of the money is suspected to have been channeled to Papa Massa Diack, a Senegalese marketing executive and the son of Lamine Diack, the former head of the International Association of Athletics Federations , who is himself the subject of several corruption investigations.However, criticism of his lack of candor mounted in Japan after he held a seven-minute news conference in January in which he denied the charges but declined to take questions.
In January, Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper said authorities should try to regain a positive image for the Games by exhaustively investigating the charges and explaining the situation. “They must not allow the suspicion to pour cold water on the run-up to the Olympics,” the paper said. Tsuruno added: “Up to now, we don’t know what he really knows, and what he does not know. We’ve been left in the dark, and still remain so.”
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Japanese Olympic Committee head resigns amid Tokyo Games scandal - Sportsnet.caTsunekazu Takeda is stepping down as the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee amid a vote-buying scandal that French investigators suspect helped Tokyo land next year's Olympics.
Read more »
Japanese Olympic Committee head resigns amid bribery scandalTsunekazu Takeda, the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee, is resigning amid a bribery scandal that investigators suspect helped Tokyo land next year's Olympics.
Read more »
Ichiro returns to Japan with Mariners as questions swirl about the baseball icon’s futureHis long odyssey returns him to Japan where Ichiro is expected to play in a two-game series when the Mariners and the Oakland A’s open the season March 20-21 at the Tokyo Dome
Read more »
Japanese Olympic Committee head resigns amid Tokyo Games scandal - Sportsnet.caTsunekazu Takeda is stepping down as the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee amid a vote-buying scandal that French investigators suspect helped Tokyo land next year's Olympics.
Read more »
Head of Japanese Olympic Committee stepping down amid bribery scandalTsunekazu Takeda again denied corruption allegations against him as he announced he would step down when his term ends in June
Read more »
Japanese Olympic Committee head resigns amid bribery scandalTsunekazu Takeda, the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee, is resigning amid a bribery scandal that investigators suspect helped Tokyo land next year's Olympics.
Read more »
▶️ K-Pop Stars Quit Music Industry Amid Shocking Sex Allegations▶️ K-pop stars quit music industry amid shocking sex allegations
Read more »
Warner Bros. chair steps down following sexual misconduct allegationsWarner Bros. chief Kevin Tsujihara, one of the highest ranking Hollywood executives to be felled by sexual misconduct allegations, stepped down from the studio Monday following claims that he promised roles to an actress with whom he was having an affair.
Read more »