The trial of the former senior managing director of Dentsu in the Tokyo Olympics corruption case is about to begin… Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori enjoyed a night of ultra-premium sushi in Roppongi.

Is it because he is not involved in the corruption surrounding the Tokyo Olympics? Or is it because he is absolutely confident that the investigations will not reach him?

At around 6:00 p.m. on April 19, former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, 85, slowly got out of his top-of-the-line black Century, a luxury car parked in a back alley in Roppongi, Tokyo. When the owner of the sushi restaurant greeted him and held out his right hand, Mori took his arm firmly and walked into the restaurant with a cane.

On this night, Mori-san was dining with a well-known surgeon specializing in lung cancer treatment. I was very surprised, because Mr. Mori had undergone surgery to remove lung cancer in ’15. I guess he consulted with her about her health. He still has a cane, but he is still in high spirits. He is still very active,” said an official of the Olympic Organizing Committee.

It was around 8:00 p.m., about two hours later, when Prime Minister Mori came out of the restaurant after enjoying the super-premium sushi, which was priced at no less than 30,000 yen per person. Supported by the owner, he got into a car with his doctor and drove away in the streets of Roppongi.

While Prime Minister Mori was enjoying an elegant and luxurious dinner, there was also a major development in the corruption case surrounding the Tokyo Olympics. On April 21, two days after the sushi dinner, Hirokunori Aoki, 84, former chairman of AOKI Holdings, a major men’s clothing company, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison (four years suspended). In return for the sponsorship contract, Aoki and others allegedly offered a bribe of 28 million yen to Haruyuki Takahashi, 79, a former senior managing director of Dentsu, who was a board member of the Organizing Committee.

Through the trial of the former AOKI chairman and others, the contents of Mori’s statements also came to light. During the prosecutors’ investigation, Mori said, “The decision on sponsorship (of the Tokyo Olympics) was left solely to me. On the other hand, he also stated that he had left the task of gathering sponsors to Takahashi. This is probably a self-defense, saying that he had the authority but was not involved in the selection process. In fact, there is no mention of any bribe being accepted, and it is unlikely that Mori will be arrested in the future.

Nevertheless, there is still a possibility that former Prime Minister Mori will come under criticism again.

The trial has not started yet, but Takahashi has consistently maintained his innocence. There is no doubt that the flow of events regarding the sponsorship decision will become clear during the trial. There is no possibility that Takahashi will mention Mori’s responsibility.

How long can former Prime Minister Mori continue to pick at his sushi?

From the May 12-19, 2023 issue of “FRIDAY