Tokyo Olympics sullied by bid-rigging, bribery trials more than 2 years after the Games closed

By STEPHEN WADE and YURI KAGEYAMA
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — The bid-rigging trial around the Tokyo Olympics is playing out in a Japanese courtroom — more than two years after the Games closed — with advertising giant Dentsu and five other companies facing criminal charges. Seven individuals are also facing charges from the Tokyo district prosecutors. Tokyo spent officially $13 billion to organize the Olympics, although a government audit suggested the figure was twice that large. About 60% is taxpayer money. Dentsu has a long history of lining up sponsorships and advertising with bodies like World Athletics, headed by Sebastian Coe, and the Switzerland-based International Olympic Committee, headed by Thomas Bach.