JOC chief Takeda denies corruption allegations

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01:04

The head of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC), Tsunekazu Takeda, who is also a key member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has denied all corruption allegations against him at a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday morning.

Takeda came under fire after he was accused of reportedly paying bribes in order to win the rights to host the 2020 Olympics by the Japanese capital.

A French prosecutor is probing Takeda, who is reportedly linked to about 2 million U.S. dollars in payments in 2013 before and after Tokyo won the bid edging out Madrid and Istanbul to stage the Summer Games for the second time in Olympic history.

The packed news conference on Tuesday at the JOC's headquarters saw Takeda dismissing the allegations in a brief seven-minute statement.

Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda speaks in a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, January 15, 2019. /VCG Photo

Takeda began with a traditional Japanese bow and dressed in a dark suit, he said: “I'd like to clear the allegation against me, and I will cooperate fully with French authorities.” However, he didn't take any question from the waiting reporters at the much-anticipated press conference.

The IOC has so far shown solidarity with Takeda and mentioned that he has the presumption of innocence. The under-fire JOC boss had earlier testified with an IOC ethics commission on January 11 but the IOC hasn't divulged the details of that.

The brewing scandal has come as a massive blow to Tokyo's preparations, which has been dubbed as “the best" in Olympic history by IOC President Thomas Bach. The marquee quadrennial event will get underway in just 18 months with Japan spending at least 20 billion U.S. dollars on the preparations.

The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics too were tarnished by corruption scandals after Carlos Nuzman, the head of the Rio Games organizing committee, stepped down following a vote-buying accusation.