Former Tokyo Olympic official appears in court and says he’s not guilty of taking bribes

By YURI KAGEYAMA and STEPHEN WADE
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — A former Tokyo Olympic organizing committee member has appeared in a court and asserted he’s not guilty of taking bribes connected to the Tokyo Games. A former executive with the powerful Japanese advertising company Dentsu, Haruyuki Takahashi is charged with accepting around 198 million yen ($1.4 million) in exchange for awarding Olympic contracts for the Tokyo Games held in 2021. His lawyers argued that the money he received was not bribes but legitimate consulting income as a sports marketing expert.