Toyota Motor Corp. has signed on as a worldwide Olympic sponsor in a long-term deal reportedly worth nearly $1 billion. The deal runs through the 2024 Olympics. Toyota is the first car company ever signed up by the ınternational Olympic Committee for its top-tier TOP sponsorship program. Toyota officials declined to reveal the financial terms of the deal but Japanese media reported the company will pay $835 million. IOC President Thomas Bach was in Tokyo to sign the agreement with Toyota president Akio Toyoda. Toyota becomes the third Japanese company to become a worldwide Olympic sponsor after Panasonic and Bridgestone. A total of 12 global companies, including Coca-Cola and McDonald's, are current TOP sponsors. The chairman of the IOC's marketing commission is Japanese IOC member Tsunekazu Takeda, who is also head of the Japanese Olympic Committee.
