Japanese sponsors Toyota, Bridgestone and Panasonic end Olympic contracts

Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — The International Olympic Committee’s three major Japanese sponsors — Toyota, Panasonic and Bridgestone — are terminating their contracts. TThis leaves the IOC without a Japanese sponsor with the focus now expected to shift to the Middle East and India for new sponsorship income. Japanese sponsors have turned away from the Olympics, likely related to the one-year delay in holding the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The delay reduced sponsors’ visibility with fans not allowed to attend competition venues, ran up costs, and unearthed a myriad corruption scandals around the Games.