At the start of his trial at the Tokyo District Court, Haruyuki Takahashi, 79, a board member of the organising committee for the summer 2021 Games, pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Takahashi is accused of receiving bribes from at least five sources, including prominent Japanese costume retailer Aoki and publisher Kadokawa, between 2017 and 2022 to help secure Olympic sponsorships.

"I maintain my innocence of all charges," Takahashi said. "It was strictly business and not bribery."

Takahashi was a well-known figure in the Japanese sports world and one of the key figures in the now disbanded Tokyo 2020 organising committee. He was former head of Japan's biggest advertising agency Dentsu, which also helped organise the games.

The former executive was arrested in the summer of 2002 on charges of receiving bribes from the aforementioned Japanese textile company. According to the indictment, the bribes were later supplemented by additional payments from other major companies. So far, eleven people have been convicted in connection with these bribes.

Takahashi's trial began after the Tokyo District Court this week found the former executive director and chief operating officer of the Games guilty of rigging bids for the event as part of this scheme of bribery and irregularities in which he was central.

According to the verdict, Yasuo Mori, who was arrested last February, rigged the tenders for organising trials and the Olympic Games themselves to the tune of ¥43.7 billion (approximately €280 million), which included bribing the judges.

The bid-rigging case, along with the trial of a former executive of the organising committee for the summer 2021 Games for alleged bribery, has tarnished the legacy of the Olympics and had repercussions for other events such as the 2030 Winter Olympics in Sapporo.