TOKYO, June 15 (Xinhua) -- A former senior official of major Japanese publisher Kadokawa Corp. was found guilty on Thursday of bribery in connection with the company's bid to win a sponsorship deal for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
The Tokyo District Court sentenced Kyoji Maniwa, who was in charge of Tokyo Games-related business at Kadokawa, to two years in prison, suspended for three years.
The 63-year-old was accused of giving about 69 million yen (490,000 U.S. dollars) to Haruyuki Takahashi, the former executive of the Tokyo Olympic Games organizing committee, in exchange for favorable treatment in selecting sponsors.
Presiding Judge Yoshihisa Nakao said Maniwa extended the huge bribe out of a selfish motive to create a big business opportunity for the publisher, adding that the defendant was well aware there was a strong possibility the money would amount to a bribe.
Maniwa is the first to receive a sentence among three people from the Japanese publishing company arrested over the bribery scandal, including former chairman Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, 79, who is to be tried separately on charges of bribery in the Tokyo Games case. ■
