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Japan's Olympic chief questioned

Tokyo prosecutors have questioned the president of the Japan Olympic Committee over controversial payments made to a Singaporean consulting firm during the bidding for the 2020 Summer Games, Kyodo News agency reported yesterday.

The questioning of Tsunekazu Takeda, who led the successful bid, and several others involved in the bidding, was voluntary and done at the request of French authorities, Kyodo said.

They denied doing anything illegal, the report said.

The Tokyo prosecutors' office and the JOC declined to comment on the report.

French prosecutors last year announced an investigation into more than US$2 million (S$2.84m) of payments made to the consultancy, Black Tidings.

Black Tidings is headed by Ian Tan Tong Hon, who is known to be close to Papa Massata Diack, son of disgraced former international athletics chief Lamine Diack.

Japanese officials repeatedly said the payments were legitimate, and an IOC panel said the same in September. - REUTERS

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