TOKYO: A former Tokyo Olympics official arrested on bribery charges was granted bail on Monday, public broadcaster NHK reported.

A Tokyo District court set bail for Haruyuki Takahashi at 80 million yen ($603,000), NHK reported.

Prosecutors have raided multiple companies in recent mon­ths in a widening corruption scandal related to the Tokyo Games.

Takahashi, a former member of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics board and before that an executive at advertising giant Dentsu Inc, was arrested in August on suspicion of receiving bribes from Olympic sponsors.

Reuters reported in 2020 that Takahashi, who was paid millions of dollars to work on Tokyo’s successful bid for the Olympics, said he played a key role in securing the support of a former Olympics powerbroker who was later suspected by French prosecutors of taking bribes to help Japan’s bid. Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2022