In a bid-rigging case involving bids for work related to the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic test competitions, the Organizing Committee of the Games created a list of companies that had agreed to participate in 80% of the bids in advance, and multiple companies such as Dentsu An interview with the person concerned revealed that there was a suspicion that he had shared it with.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office's special investigation department is believed to be proceeding with the investigation, viewing it as a document indicating order coordination.

On the other hand, out of the eight companies that received orders for the work and were investigated, at least four, including Dentsu, have denied the order coordination, so future investigations will clarify the background and significance of the creation of the list. It seems to be the focus.



The Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee is suspected of collusion with multiple companies, including Dentsu, regarding bidding for work related to test competitions for each sport ordered by the Organizing Committee. The District Public Prosecutor's Office and the Fair Trade Commission are investigating eight of the companies that won the bid last month, including advertising giant Dentsu, on suspicion of violating the Antimonopoly Act.



According to people familiar with the matter, the suspects are 26 tenders held in 2018 to select a contractor to plan the test competitions, and the organizing committee does not appear to have any companies participating in the tenders depending on the sport. Concerned about the situation, he asked Dentsu to conduct a survey on the performance and intentions of companies that were expected to participate in the autumn of the previous year.



In the spring of 2018, just before the bidding began, about 80% of the 26 bids were submitted, and it is suspected that a list of companies that had agreed to participate was created and shared with multiple companies such as Dentsu. I learned something new from interviewing people.



In the list, 80% of the bids that seem to have reached agreement are colored in blue, and the organizing committee is said to have asked some companies to participate in the bids by naming specific competitions. That's it.



Many of the bids were awarded in accordance with the list, and it seems that the Special Investigation Department and others are proceeding with clarification, considering it as a document showing prior order coordination.



On the other hand, interviews with related parties revealed that at least four of the eight companies that received orders for the work and were investigated denied any wrongdoing in the investigation by the special investigation department.



▽


Dentsu


▽Dentsu Live


At least four companies, ▽ Cerespo


and Fuji Creative Corporation,


have not revealed the approval or disapproval of the other four companies.



In an interview with NHK, a Dentsu official said, "We cooperated with the organizing committee's survey of their intentions. "We also participated in bids that were not written in the list. We did not move according to the table," said an official from another company who denied wrongdoing.



Future investigations are expected to focus on clarifying how the list was created and its meaning.

Dentsu Public Relations "We are fully cooperating with the investigation"

In response to an interview with NHK, Dentsu's public relations commented, "We sincerely apologize for causing you great concern and inconvenience. Our group is fully cooperating with the investigation to clarify the whole situation." doing.

Subcontracting "The Organizing Committee is a ragtag organization"

At one of the competition venues of the Tokyo Olympics, the person in charge of the event company that was involved in the operation of the event as a subcontractor responded to the NHK interview.



Among them, regarding the suspicion of collusion in the bidding related to the test competition, "I honestly feel that it is disappointing because the staff at the site were working with the idea of ​​making this event a success. ' said.



In addition, regarding the background of the incident, he said, ``Unexpected situations can occur in the management of sporting events, and in terms of avoiding risks, it is smoother to leave it to a management company that specializes in the sport or an advertising company with skills. The Organizing Committee is a patchwork organization, and I didn't think that it would be more successful to select a company in a short period of time, listen to the opinions of a company that is familiar with the competition, and leave it to them to manage the tournament. or?” pointed out.

Expert: “The point is to prove agreement”

Professor Hiroshi Nakazato of Tokyo Keizai University's Faculty of Modern Law, who served as chairman of the Fair Trade Commission's examination, said that the key point in future investigations would be to prove how individual contractors agreed to collusion. pointed out.



In it, Professor Nakazato said, ``Dentsu, which is said to have played a leading role among the business operators, and the organization committee of the orderer, in what form were the contents of each bid communicated to each company. It is extremely important to elucidate what role individuals played in this process."



After that, he said, ``Originally, there should be no order allocation table before the bidding. It will be one of the focal points."