Tsunekazu Takeda will not attend an IOC Marketing Commission meeting this week ©Getty Images

A meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Marketing Commission later this week will take place without chairman Tsunekazu Takeda after the Japanese official was indicted on corruption charges in France.

An IOC spokesperson confirmed the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) President will be absent from the meeting in Lausanne on Saturday (January 19) for "personal reasons".

Takeda has led the Marketing Commission, which helps the IOC oversee the signing of sponsorship deals, since 2014 but has deciced not to attend the group's latest meeting.

The 71-year-old, considered a well-respected and influential IOC member, has become embroiled in an alleged vote-buying scandal related to Tokyo's successful bid for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

He is is suspected of authorising the payment of bribes in order to help the Japanese capital secure the hosting rights for the Games. 

Takeda denies wrongdoing and claimed he was "never involved in any decision-making process" relating to payments worth $2 million (£1.5 million/€1.75 million) made to Singaporean company Black Tidings before Tokyo was awarded the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics at the IOC Session in Buenos Aires in 2013. 

The account holder has been closely tied to Papa Massata Diack, son of the disgraced former International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President and IOC member Lamine Diack, currently being held in France and facing corruption charges.

Tsunekazu Takeda has been indicted on corruption charges in France but denies wrongdoing ©Getty Images
Tsunekazu Takeda has been indicted on corruption charges in France but denies wrongdoing ©Getty Images

It is alleged the payments were directed to the elder Diack, with authorities in France suspecting corruption or money laundering by an unknown person.

Takeda claimed it was merely a "consultancy contract signed through appropriate approval procedures".

He also offered an apology "that this trouble could possibly affect the Olympic Movement" at a short press conference yesterday, which lasted 10 minutes and where the Japanese official did not take any questions.

Last week, the IOC Ethics Commission confirmed a file had been opened on Takeda but stressed he retained the "presumption of innocence".

The case was discussed by the IOC Ethics Commission when it held a meeting on Friday (January 11).

Takeda was charged by the national financial prosecutor's office in Paris last month and is being investigated for "active corruption".

The charges against him do not immediately trigger a trial but prosecutors believe they have strong evidence of wrongdoing.