TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) chief Tsunekazu Takeda, who is under investigation for suspected corruption, said on Tuesday he will step down from his position when his term ends in June and resign from the International Olympic Committee.
Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda attends JOC board of directors meeting in Tokyo, Japan, March 19, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
French prosecutors have questioned Takeda in Paris and placed him under formal investigation in December for suspected corruption in Tokyo’s successful bid to host the 2020 Summer Games.
Takeda, who was president of the 2020 bid committee, said during a JOC board of directors meeting in Tokyo he would step down and not seek re-election.
At a news conference later on Tuesday, Takeda said: “I don’t believe I’ve done anything illegal.”
When asked why he had not resigned with immediate effect, Takeda said: “It pains me to have created such a fuss, but I believe it is my responsibility to serve out the rest of my term.”
Takeda had been head of the JOC since 2001 and his resignation leaves a cloud hanging over both the national committee and the organizers of the Tokyo 2020 Games.
He also serves on Tokyo 2020’s Executive Committee but it was unclear whether he would also be standing down from this role.
French investigators have led a years-long probe into corruption in athletics and in early 2016 extended their inquiry into the bidding and voting processes for the hosting of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Multi-million dollar payments made by the Tokyo bid committee to a Singapore consulting company are under probe and Takeda is suspected of paying bribes to secure the winning bid.
Takeda has denied any wrongdoing, saying that there was nothing improper with the contracts made between the committee and the consultancy and that they were for legitimate work.
The IOC’s ethics commission has opened an ethics file on Takeda, who chairs the IOC’s marketing commission. Takeda has been a member of the IOC since 2012 and was president of the Tokyo 2020 bid committee.
Tokyo 2020 organizers have yet to comment on Takeda’s resignation.
The JOC is expected to elect a new president in June during regular biennial voting.
Japanese media have reported that former Olympic judo champion Yasuhiro Yamashita and Japan Football Association President Kozo Tashima, both JOC Executive Board members, could be in line to take over.
Additional reporting and writing by Chris Gallagher and Elaine Lies; Editing by Peter Rutherford and Sudipto Ganguly