Draft Guidelines Propose 11 Rules for Governing Sporting Events
Attorney Kei Ikuta, left, who leads the project team, speaks at a meeting in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo on Friday.
16:30 JST, Feb 11, 2023
To prevent a repeat of incidents such as the Tokyo Games-related corruption and bid-fixing allegations, draft governance guidelines for bodies organizing major sporting events in Japan were released on Friday.
The design was created by a project team chaired by attorney Kei Ikuta and included members of the Japan Sports Administration and the Japan Olympic Committee.
Organizers must adhere to 11 set rules to increase transparency in procedures such as board composition and sponsor selection to prevent underhand practices. While not binding, it requires governing bodies to publish a self-assessment of their compliance status at least annually.
The draft policy requires governing bodies to comply with:
– Establishment of a committee to select candidates for senior officials
– Decision of the Board of Directors on sponsor selection policy and decision-making powers and setting regulations
– When outsourcing marketing activities to a third party, establish a mechanism for fair selection of the third party
– Proactively disclose information that is not required by law
As many events are run by temporary staff from various public and private organisations, the draft also foresaw the need to establish a conflicts of interest management body independent of the board. In addition, criteria should be defined for transactions that would constitute a conflict of interest, and it should be ensured that employees on loan are not assigned to departments that are related to the company from which they come.
The draft also proposed using external experts to set up a reporting service and a disciplinary system.
In formulating the draft policy, five team members, including a lawyer, conducted interviews with 10 former Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee officials to identify issues that need to be addressed to prevent a repeat of the Tokyo Games-related incidents.
The draft was approved at the team meeting in Tokyo on Friday. The guidelines will be officially adopted in March after the team heard opinions from other groups, including sports organizations.
The team will consider adding or revising points to the rules as investigations and hearings into the allegations unfold.