Ex-Kadokawa Chm. Pleads Not Guilty over Tokyo Games Bribery

Tokyo, Oct. 8 (Jiji Press)--Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, former chairman of Japanese publisher Kadokawa Corp., pleaded not guilty Tuesday over allegations that he bribed a former executive of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee.

"I don't recall anything, and I'm innocent," Kadokawa, 81, said in the first hearing of his trial at Tokyo District Court.

Public prosecutors said in their opening statement that the publisher's Olympics-related operations were carried out at the former chairman's discretion.

They said that the suspect approved plans to make payments to Haruyuki Takahashi, 80, former executive of the Tokyo Games organizing committee, in the name of consulting fees after being told by a former company managing director of the legal risk of paying money in exchange for being selected as a Games sponsor.

The defense side denied Kadokawa's involvement in the scandal, saying that the former chairman did not have decision-making authority and that he was not in a position to receive reports even after the risk of bribery had been pointed out within the company.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]