Tokyo 2020 Bid Will Be Investigated After $2M Payment Report

A Japanese official who led the successful bid for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics said on Wednesday that the Japanese Olympic Committee "plans to investigate the bidding after questions were raised about payments by the bid committee," according to Lies & Grohmann of REUTERS. Media has reported "the bid team made payments" totaling more than $2M to a Singapore bank account linked to Papa Massata Diack. Japanese officials said that the payments "were legitimate consultant's fees." JOC President Tsunekazu Takeda said that "people involved with the bid would be questioned." He said, "We are setting up an investigative team that includes outside lawyers. We will once again talk with people connected to the bid at the time to ascertain whether or not there was anything illegal in the suspicions that have been raised" (REUTERS, 5/18).