Japan Prime Minister – Shinzo Abe
The Japanese government has announced plans to set up a special policing unit to monitor and investigate corruption threats to its nations sporting bodies.
Government officials confirmed that multiple government agencies would co-operate with the special unit in order to fight sports corruption in Japan and potential threats from abroad ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Japan’s ruling party the Liberal Democratic Party, stated that plans for the creation of the special unit had begun in December 2013.
The Shinzo Abe led government will ask for international co-operation in fighting sports corruption, stating it had reviewed international legal systems regarding the matter. Japan’s concerns regarding sports corruption have grown, due to recent reported cases of match fixing in the popular sport of sumo.
The government stated that the special unit would primarily focus on detection of match fixing, tampered sports performance and money laundering through sports betting.
