Japanese press agency Kyodo News reported that 64 of the 69 companies that responded to their request said they did not sign a contract with the 78-year-old’s consulting firm in September 2017.

Takahashi is alleged to have received an estimated ¥45 million (£279,000/$336,000/€331,000) from major business suit retailer Aoki Holdings Inc. after a company he headed reached a consulting deal with the firm.

Aoki’s Olympic sponsorship was announced around a year later.

Japanese investigators are reportedly probing the flow of funds and the influence it had on the holding of the Olympic and Paralympic Games due to Takahashi being considered as a quasi-civil servant in his capacity on the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, which was officially disbanded last month.

Accepting money or gifts related to his duties could constitute bribery and Takahashi could face corruption charges.

According to Kyodo News, Aoki also transferred ¥230 million (£1.4 million/$1.7 million/€1.6 million/) to Takahashi for donation to sporting groups, but the Japanese official allegedly held onto ¥150 million (£930,000/$1.1 million/€1.1 million) of the total.

Takahashi has denied any wrongdoing.

Kyodo News reported last month that Takahashi's home in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward was raided alongside the main offices of Japan's largest advertising agency Dentsu Inc. in Minato Ward.

Takahashi is a former senior managing director of Dentsu.

Several Dentsu employees were seconded to the Tokyo 2020 marketing division, which was in charge of choosing sponsors for the Games.

Prosecutors are also investigating whether Takahashi exerted any influence in the selection process of the sponsors.

According to a source familiar to the case, the consulting firm headed by Takahashi signed the deal with Aoki worth ¥1 million (£6,200/$7,500/€7,300) per month in September 2017.

In October 2018, Aoki announced it had secured an "official supporter" contract with Tokyo 2020.

The agreement permitted Aoki to use the competition’s emblems for business purposes and sell officially licensed products, such as suits bearing the emblems.

Aoki has sold an excess of 30,000 suits and jackets bearing the emblems to the public since summer 2019.

The company also provided Japanese athletes with uniforms for the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Kyodo News claimed that when other companies were questioned about the sponsorship process, they emphasised that they held no relationship with Takahashi and that they did not know him.

Takahashi is not the first senior Tokyo 2020 official to be accused of accepting a bribe.

Tsunekazu Takeda, the former President of the Japanese Olympic Committee, resigned in 2019 after being tied to an investigation into bribes reportedly paid to International Olympic Committee members in the 2013 vote.