Prosecutors and the Japan Fair Trade Commission searched the head office of major advertising company Dentsu Inc. in Minato Ward, Tokyo, and other locations on suspicion of violation of the Antimonopoly Law on Friday in connection with alleged bid-rigging involving test events for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
In the bidding conducted by the Tokyo Games organizing committee for contractors to plan and operate the test events of various sports, multiple companies, including Dentsu, are suspected to have coordinated in advance on which company would win which bid. The special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office and the JFTC are investigating the case as they suspect the possibility of the involvement of the organizing committee in the bid-rigging.
