Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, 79, the chairman of the publishing company Kadokawa, has been charged with bribery by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office after allegedly bribing a former member of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizing committee.

Kadokawa was detained on September 14th on bribery charges, which he has steadfastly denied. The chairman allegedly paid a former Olympic official a bribe, according to the Special Investigation Unit, to secure sponsorship of the international athletic event for an estimated 69 million yen, paid in nine payments beginning in January 2021.

Two people, including former Kadokawa Senior Managing Director Toshiyuki Yoshihara (64), have been detained and charged with bribery by the Special Investigation Unit. Later, Kadokawa was detained for conspiring with the two. Kadokawa vehemently refuted the accusations and insisted that he was "absolutely not" aware of the bribery during a pre-arrest interrogation.