The head of Japan's Olympic Committee has been charged in Paris for "active corruption" in connection with the awarding of the 2020 Olympics to Tokyo, a judicial official told AFP.
Tsunekazu Takeda was indicted on December 10 by investigating magistrates looking into a suspect payment of 2.8 million Singapore dollars ($2.3 million) made before the Japanese capital was chosen to host the Olympics, the source said Friday.
Tokyo beat Madrid and Istanbul in the 2013 vote.
Takeda, a former Olympic showjumper who led the country's campaign for the Games, said he had cooperated with a French judge looking into the matter, adding: "I was not involved in any wrongdoing such as bribery."