NAGOYA: Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday that it will not renew its top-level sponsorship contracts with the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee, which are set to expire at year-end.

“I’ve been wondering whether the current Olympic Games are putting athletes first,” Chairman Akio Toyoda said on the company’s own media outlet.

Toyoda also expressed doubts about a sponsorship rule that selects one company per industry to become a sponsor, the scheduling of the Summer Games in midsummer and the timing of matches and other events.

The Olympics “have grown politically charged,” he said.

Meanwhile, the automaker will continue financial support for athletes in Japan and abroad and will work on the development of equipment for para athletes.

Toyota signed 10-year contracts with the IOC and the IPC in 2015.

The company said it will continue supporting the IPC through the Toyota Mobility Foundation.

Earlier this month, Panasonic Holdings Corp. said it will terminate its top-tier sponsorship contract with the IOC at the end of December. The electronics giant has been an Olympic sponsor since 1987, when it was called Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.

JIJI Press