Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organizers and the Tokyo metropolitan government, concerned about a rush of volunteer uniforms appearing on online auction sites and flea-market apps, are calling for a halt to such transactions.
The sale or transfer of the uniforms is prohibited, and there is also concern they could be used for criminal purposes.
Items have been confirmed to on sale on such auction websites and apps as Yafuoku!, Mercari and Rakuma. The description for one read, "This is an official uniform for the Olympic volunteers. It's brand new and unused, and only given to volunteers." It sold for about 10,000 yen.
The terms and conditions for being a volunteer at Olympic venues prohibits the selling of provided goods online or transferring them to a third party. The organizing committee provided three polo shirts to each volunteer, and it appears some from the set were sold online.
In cases where it can confirm that such items were sold by the volunteers themselves, the organizing committee is considering pulling their credentials.
"It's regrettable that the terms are being violated," an official said. "We need to thoroughly educate [volunteers] during training sessions and elsewhere that such sales are prohibited."
A uniform for the street volunteers who provide directions and other assistance has also been found on an online auction site. Earlier this week, the Tokyo metropolitan government asked Mercari to take down the item.
Meanwhile, Rakuma forbids the sale of uniforms that "can be used to disguise one's position or identity." This is applicable to those provided to Tokyo Games volunteers, and the website has removed an item that was put on sale for about 990,000 yen.
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