The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday ordered major event company Cerespo to pay a fine of ¥280 million for violating antimonopoly law by rigging bids linked to the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2021.
The court also sentenced former Cerespo executive Yoshiji Kamata, 61, to 22 months in prison, suspended for four years. Kamata is expected to appeal the ruling.
Presiding judge Kenji Yasunaga said that Kamata and other Cerespo officials moved to predetermine winning bidders with other companies in accordance with the wishes of Yasuo Mori, a 57-year-old former senior official of the Tokyo Games organizing committee who has already been convicted.
According to the ruling, Kamata conspired with Mori and others to decide in advance which companies would win contracts related to test events for the Tokyo Games between February and July 2018.
In the bid-rigging case, six companies, including Cerespo, and seven individuals —each company's related official and the then organizing committee official — were indicted. Among them, major advertising agency Hakuhodo was ordered to pay a fine of ¥200 million in July this year.
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