The Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) on Wednesday set up an investigative team to determine if there were any illegal payments made to a Singapore firm, entangling Tokyo's winning 2020 Olympic bid in a bribery investigation.
The three-man investigative team consists of two Japanese lawyers and a certified accountant.
JOC President Tsunekazu Takeda, who headed Tokyo's bid team, approved the payment of 2.8 million Singapore dollars ($A2.78 million) to Black Tidings headed by Ian Tan Tong Han.
Han is a close associate of Papa Massata Diack, the son of former international athletics president Lamine Diack, who is facing corruption charges in France.
Takeda said the payments were made for a variety of consulting services provided by Black Tidings in support of Tokyo's successful bid.
