JOC Chief Takeda Offers to Step Down amid Bribery Allegations

March 20, 2019

Tokyo- Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda said Tuesday that he will step down at the end of his current term in June, at a time when he is under French investigation for bribery allegations linked to Tokyo's successful bid for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.

At a meeting of JOC executives in Tokyo, Takeda, 71, claimed that the main reason for his resignation is to allow young leaders to open up a new era through the Tokyo Games.

Takeda told a press conference later in the day that he will also resign as a member of the International Olympic Committee, while stressing that the bribery probe is not a reason for him to leave office.

"I haven't committed any wrongdoing," said Takeda. "I'll continue to make efforts to prove my innocence."

At the center of the bribery allegations is the payment in 2013 of about 220 million yen from Tokyo's then bidding committee, headed by Takeda, to a Singapore-based consulting firm linked to a son of an IOC member from Senegal.

In September 2013, the Japanese capital was selected to host the 2020 Summer Games by a vote at an IOC general meeting, beating rival bidders Madrid and Istanbul.

Currently, Takeda is in his 10th term as JOC chief since he assumed the post in 2001.

Ahead of JOC executive elections slated for June, Takeda staying in office until 2020 seemed to be almost a done deal. There were moves to change an existing rule banning people at 70 or over from being elected to the JOC board, so that the 71-year-old leader could remain in the board.

With the French investigation seen being prolonged, however, Takeda was facing growing pressure to step down, due to spreading concerns that the scandal could damage the image of the Tokyo Games.

JOC senior executive Yasuhiro Yamashita, 61, a judo gold medalist in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, is viewed as a leading candidate to succeed Takeda, people familiar with the matter said.

During the JOC executive meeting on Tuesday, there was a proposal to name Takeda the committee's honorary president.

Takeda was a member of the Japanese equestrian team in the 1972 Munich and 1976 Montreal Olympics. His late father was a grandson of Japanese Emperor Mutsuhito, posthumously called Emperor Meiji.

The JOC is to consider whether he should also resign as vice president each of the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Olympic Council of Asia. Jiji Press