Guidelines to improve transparency in organizing intl sporting events in Japan to be worked out

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:34 JST, November 12, 2022

In response to a bribery scandal involving sponsorships for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, the Japan Sports Agency and the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) have decided to draw up guidelines to improve the transparency of organizations operating large-scale international sporting events in Japan.

On Nov. 18, the agency and the JOC will launch a study meeting, together with the Japan Sport Association, the Japanese Para-Sports Association, the Japan Sport Council, and other organizations.

The meeting will examine such issues as the ambiguity of the selection criteria and authority of the board members of the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which became a hotbed of the bribery scandal, and the opaqueness of the sponsorship contract process.

Following the examination, the meeting will discuss the governance structure of organizations that will operate international sporting events in the country and ways to eliminate malfeasance in sponsorship contracts, which will be finalized by February next year. The meeting will also work out standards for the disclosure of information on such organizations.

The meeting is expected to also include the participation of officials from the city government of Sapporo, which aims to host the 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, and organizations related to the World Athletics Championships, and the Deaflympics — an event for hearing-impaired athletes — both of which are to be held in Tokyo in 2025, and the Asian Games (including the Para Games) to be held in Aichi Prefecture in 2026, as well as lawyers and certified public accountants.

The sports world as a whole aims to work together to dispel the public’s doubts about the operation of international sporting events, which have been heightened by the bribery scandal, and to restore public confidence.