JAPAN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Masayuki Atsumi and Yuhei Sakao, Miura & Partners
Tokyo Olympics bribery scandal The most socially impactful bribery case in recent years was that involving the sponsorship of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. In this case, various companies – such as a business suit retail company, an advertising company, a publishing company, and a company manufac - turing and selling stuffed toys – gave bribes to a former board member of the Tokyo Olympics Organising Committee, and a total of 15 execu - tives of these companies were indicted for giv - ing bribes. The directors and employees of the Tokyo Olympics Organising Committee, includ - ing the board members, are “deemed public officials” under the Act on Special Measures Concerning the Tokyo Olympics and Paralym - pics. Therefore, the board members are subject to bribery regulation. The former executives of the business suit retail company were convicted by the Tokyo District Court on 21 April 2023. The former chairperson was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, with a four-year suspended sentence, for the following reasons. • The defendants’ requests in return for bribes to the board member covered a wide range of matters, including the selection of sponsors, and the bribes were paid 31 times over a peri - od of two years and six months, amounting to a total of JPY28 million. • The bribes have harmed society’s trust in the fairness of the officials involved in the opera - tion of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, a sporting event that has attracted worldwide attention and is considered to be of particular national importance. Also, the former executive officer of the advertis - ing company was convicted by the Tokyo District Court on 12 March 2024. He was sentenced to
two years in prison, with a four-year suspended sentence, for the following reasons. • The amount of the bribe provided by the defendant, approximately JPY6.5 million, is not small. • The defendant’s crime has distorted the pro - cess of deciding Olympic sponsors and has undermined confidence in the operation of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. Bribery of foreign public officials Overview of the laws and regulations on bribery of foreign public officials In 1997, Japan ratified the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. In 1998, the UCPA was amended to treat bribery of foreign public officials as a crime. Japan is also a signa - tory of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, which includes provisions requiring legal action against the acceptance of bribes by domestic public officials and bribery of domestic and foreign officials. Under the UCPA, offering, promising or giving bribes to foreign officials in order to obtain an improper business advantage in the conduct of international business is prohibited (Article 18), and “the principle of territorial jurisdiction” is adopted. Therefore, in cases where any actions constituting bribery have been committed in Japan, or the results of bribery have affected Japan, the person committing the bribery is punishable for bribery of a foreign public official, regardless of their nationality. The “principle of nationality” is also adopted, so that Japanese persons who bribe a foreign official outside Japan are punishable for bribery of a foreign public official.
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