Tokyo: Tsunekazu Takeda, the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee, is resigning amid a bribery scandal that investigators suspect helped Tokyo land next year’s Olympics.
Takeda announced Tuesday he will stand down when his term ends in June, but again denied corruption allegations against him. Takeda is also a powerful International Olympic Committee member and the head of its marketing commission. He holds the IOC spot by virtue of the Japanese presidency. He said it was his own decision, and in the interests of the future of the Japanese Olympic Committee.
“I would like to leave the future of the JOC to a younger generation to lead up to Tokyo 2020,” he said during an executive board meeting in Tokyo. “At the end of my tenure in June, I am pulling out as JOC chairman and as a committee member.” His departure as head of the JOC will also end his terms at the International Olympic Committee.
The scandal has cast a shadow over next year’s Olympics and underlines flawed efforts by the IOC to clean up its bidding process. Japan is spending at least USD 20 billion to organize the games, which open July 24, 2020. (AP)
