Skip to main content

Komazawa Park Administrator Caught Embezzling ¥12 Million in Usage Fees

 

On Sept. 6 the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Lifestyle, Culture and Sports Bureau and Sports Benefits Corporation announced the discovery that income at the Komazawa Olympic Park Sports Complex such as facility usage fees had been embezzled. The theft of funds was committed by an employee of the Tokyo Sports Benefits Corporation, the organization that administers the park and its facilities.

Between June, 2021 and July, 2023, a contract employee at O-Ence Ltd., a subsidiary of the Corporation, embezzled facility usage fees which the employee was tasked with handling. The employee stole roughly 12,000,000 yen [~$81,000 USD] by making transfers to the employee's personal account and withdrawing cash from the company's account. Facility usage fees are classified as the income of the administering organization, so no direct harm to park and facility users of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government occurred as a result of the embezzlement. The employee and O-Ence have already repaid in full the amount that had been stolen.

The incident came to light in July this year when the Corporation became suspicious that an O-Ence employee was embezzling usage fees and reported it to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. They questioned the employee and implemented emergency measures at Komazawa Park to prevent future incidents of the same kind. The employee's acts fall under the criminal category of embezzlement in the course of business, and the Corporation has consulted with the police to submit charges and ensure that the employee be punished. The employee was fired by O-Ence on Aug. 29.

Translator's note: Although Komazawa Park is adjacent to the main campus of Komazawa University, it is not part of the university and the university's national champion ekiden team does not train at the track in the park.


Comments

Most-Read This Week

'Kobe 2024: Aitchison, Athmani Lead Record-Breaking Thursday'

  https://www.paralympic.org/news/kobe-2024-para-athletics-world-championships-aitchison-athmani-lead-record-breaking-thursday Complete results and daily schedule from the Kobe World Para Athletics Championships are here .

Japan's First Goldless Day - Asian Athletics Championships Day Four Highlights

Day 4 of the Bangkok Asian Athletics Championships was the first without a single gold medal going to Japan, but there were still enough silvers and bronzes to go around. Robyn Lauren Brown of the Philippines outclassed the rest of the women's 400 mH final field, taking gold in 57.50. Eri Utsunomiya and Ami Yamamoto made it a Japanese 2-3, Utsunomiya running 57.73 for silver and Yamamoto 57.80 for bronze. Yusaku Kodama also scored silver in the men's 400 mH, running 48.96 behind Qatari winner Bassem Hemeida 's 48.64. Yuki Yamasaki won bronze in the heptathlon with 5696 points, Uzbekistan's Ekaterina Voronina taking gold in 6098 and Swapna Barman silver in 5840. Teammate Karin Odama was 4th in 5487. Another bronze came in the mixed 4x400 m relay, with Japan running 3:15.71 behind India's 3:14.70 and Sri Lanka's 3:15.41. Naoto Hasegawa and Ryoichi Akamatsu both cleared 2.23 m in the men's high jump, Hasegawa finishing 4th overall and Akamatsu 5th. ...

'Kobe 2024: Monday Sees Shocking Wins on the Track and the Field'

  https://www.paralympic.org/news/kobe-2024-para-athletics-world-championships-monday-sees-shocking-wins-track-and-field Complete results and daily schedule from the Kobe World Para Athletics Championships  are here .