Hakuhodo's appeal dismissed in Tokyo Games bid-rigging case
The Tokyo High Court on Thursday rejected an appeal filed by lawyers for Hakuhodo against a lower court ruling that ordered the advertising agency to pay a fine of ¥200 million ($1.37 million) for its involvement in a high-profile Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics bid-rigging case.
The high court, presided over by judge Kazunori Karei, also upheld the Tokyo District Court's sentence of 18 months in jail, suspended for three years, for Kenichiro Yokomizo, the 58-year-old former president of a Hakuhodo group firm.
It was the first high court ruling in a series of bid-rigging cases related to the Tokyo Games, held in 2021.
According to the district court's ruling, Yokomizo and others, including a former senior official of the Tokyo Games organizing committee, decided contractors in advance of bidding for planning work for Olympic test events between February and July 2018.
In the series of cases, six companies and an official in charge at each company were indicted, in addition to the former organizing committee official.
Of them, four companies, including Hakuhodo, and their officials were found guilty in their first trials and have appealed the rulings.
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