Japanese sponsors Toyota, Bridgestone and Panasonic end Olympic contracts
The International Olympic Committee’s three major Japanese sponsors — Toyota, Panasonic and Bridgestone — are terminating their contracts
By YURI KAGEYAMA
Published - Oct 01, 2024, 08:48 PM ET
Last Updated - Dec 16, 2024, 06:43 PM EST
TOKYO (AP) — The International Olympic Committee's three major Japanese sponsors — Toyota, Panasonic and Bridgestone — are terminating their contracts.
This leaves the IOC without a Japanese sponsor with the focus now expected to shift to the Middle East and India for new sponsorship income.
Japanese sponsors have turned away from the Olympics, likely related to the one-year delay in holding the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The delay reduced sponsors’ visibility with fans not allowed to attend competition venues, increased costs, and unearthed a myriad of corruption scandals around the Games.
The three are among 15 of the so-called TOP Olympic sponsors. The 15 paid a total of more than $2 billion to the IOC in the last four-year Olympic cycle.
