A Japanese court on Friday sentenced the former chairman of business suit retailer
The ruling was the first in a series of bribery cases involving Takahashi, who has been charged with accepting bribes from Aoki and others in return for helping companies to be selected as Olympic sponsors or marketing agents.
Aoki's brother and the company's former vice chairman
Prosecutors had demanded a two-and-a-half year prison sentence for the former chairman and prison terms of 18 months and one year for
The three had admitted to the charges during the trial. Their defense counsel had sought suspended terms for the three, claiming they had not personally profited from their actions.
According to the ruling, the former officials approached Takahashi to ensure that their company was selected as an Olympic sponsor and quickly got a contract that included the rights for providing the uniforms for the Japanese team's athletes.
They sent the money between
Takahashi was indicted in September for receiving a total
==Kyodo
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