Payments made by the Tokyo Olympic bid team to a consulting firm in Singapore immediately before and after the capital's victory in September 2013 were clean and legitimate, the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee said again Monday.
Political pressure, however, is mounting on the JOC and the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to scrutinize the payments — the latest in a litany of missteps and scandals marring Tokyo's credibility to host the international sports spectacle.
Opposition lawmaker Yuichiro Tamaki of the Democratic Party urged Abe to establish an independent committee to investigate the matter.