Tokyo: A formal investigation found no evidence of bribery by Japanese officials on Thursday after probing a $2 million payment made during Tokyo's successful bid to host the 2020 Olympics. French prosecutors said in May that they were investigating the 2.8 million Singapore dollar (1.8 million euros, $2 million) payment to a Singapore-based consultancy.

Shortly after, the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) set up an investigative panel of three lawyers to look into the payment, which has been linked to a son of disgraced ex-world athletics chief Lamine Diack. Diack, whose son Papa Massata Diack has denied receiving the money, was an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member at the time. "The investigation concludes that (the bid committee's deals) are not in violation of any of the laws of Japan," the panel's report said.