<figure id="attachment_264005" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-264005" style="width: 4589px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="341ab56b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/09/aflo_153878221.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-264005" class="wp-caption-text">Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori resigned as chairman of the Tokyo Organizing Committee for the Tokyo Olympics after making disparaging remarks about women. He is being questioned by district prosecutors on suspicion of bribery&#8230;</figcaption></figure>
 How far will the Olympic corruption spread?
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office has learned that former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who was chairman of the Organizing Committee, was interviewed on a voluntary basis by the Special Investigation Department.
 Although his duties at the Organizing Committee are considered &#8220;deemed public officials,&#8221; the Sankei Shimbun reported on September 1 that Aoki Akinori, the former chairman of AOKI Holdings (indicted on bribery charges), had &#8220;twice asked former Chairman Mori if he was a member of the Organizing Committee, and was told that he was a member of the committee.
 &#8220;He handed over 2 million yen in cash to former Chairman Mori on two occasions,&#8221; the Sankei Shimbun reported.
 The report stated that &#8220;Aoki stated that he handed over 2 million yen in cash to former Chairman Mori on two separate occasions. Mori apparently asked Haruyuki Takahashi (arrested and indicted on charges of bribery), a former member of the Organizing Committee, to explain what authority he had in selecting sponsors.
 On January 9, when Mori visited his hometown in Ishikawa Prefecture, the press asked him a barrage of questions seeking comment, but he remained silent and left the scene. Mori&#8217;s representative said
 Mr. Mori&#8217;s representative commented, &#8220;Mr. Takahashi and others have been arrested and this is a criminal case, so I will refrain from giving an answer in case it interferes with the investigation.
 The Special Investigation Department has been interviewing Mr. Mori.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 On April 7, a plan was announced to erect a bust of Mori.
 Fifteen people, including Fujio Mitarai, chairman and president of Canon Inc. and Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo Olympics Paralympics Organizing Committee, have been collecting donations for 5,000 yen per unit since May, and the amount has already reached several tens of millions of yen. The name of the donation account is &#8220;Project to erect a bust in honor of Yoshiro Mori.
 The account name is &#8220;Project to erect a bust in honor of Mr. Yoshiro Mori,&#8221; and the donations have already amounted to tens of millions of yen. Many people may feel compelled to donate money if they are concerned about Mr. Mori&#8217;s face or their future relationship with the initiators of the project.
 Even though the statue will be erected by volunteers, there are certain people who do not want to see a bust of Mr. Mori. There is already a &#8216;Yoshiro Mori Memorial Hall&#8217; at Mori&#8217;s birthplace in Ishikawa Prefecture, so there would be less criticism if it were placed there.
 Meanwhile, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office is also said to be taking the matter of the former prime minister&#8217;s hearing with a great deal of caution. If the allegations against former Prime Minister Mori should develop into a case, the bust will be nothing more than a &#8220;negative legacy.
 Speaking of Mr. Mori, he resigned as chairman of the organizing committee because of his derogatory comments about women&#8230;. It would have been fine if he had declined, saying that a bust would be outrageous, but Mr. Mori has said that he would like to make one.
 When Mao Asada fell in the women&#8217;s figure skating SP at the Sochi Olympics in 2002 and came in 16th place, a wide media source said, &#8220;She must be sure to make a statue of herself at the critical moment.
 When Mao Asada fell and placed 16th in the women&#8217;s figure skating SP at the Sochi Olympics in 2002, the broadcaster said, &#8220;She always falls when it matters.
 When Mao Asada fell and placed 16th in the women&#8217;s SP at the Sochi Olympics in 2002, Mr. Mori&#8217;s comments were not so much a reflection on the athlete, but rather a mockery of her. Nevertheless, the fact that the promoters of the project to erect a bust of Mr. Mori have been named in gratitude to him is a logical conclusion.

 Afro Sports

 Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori has been arbitrarily questioned by the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office over allegations of bribery in connection with the Tokyo Olympics. A plan to erect a bust of him has been announced...

Yoshiro Mori’s “Olympics Corruption” Allegations Raise Funds to Build a Bust in Political World

Access Ranking