
Toki Aviation Capital, a company affiliated with Toki Air, returned all funds received through the “Sado City Employment Opportunity Expansion Project Subsidy” in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 to the city on September 25, 2024, the company announced on the same day.
According to Toki Aviation Capital’s statement, the day before, it received an order to refund the subsidy from the city. “We have been informed by the Cabinet Office that this was not a case of fraudulent receipt of subsidies and that they will improve notification system, etc. to prevent similar cases from occurring in the future. They will also check whether there have been any similar cases at other companies and in other regions,” the statement continued.
Allegations that Toki Air misused the approximately 8,000,000 yen ($55,000) received through the subsidy and that the Cabinet Office was investigating the case first appeared in The Asahi Shimbun on August 20, 2024. The airline repeatedly denied those allegations.
Toki Air launched scheduled flights at the end of January 2024 and currently operates two daily Niigata – Sapporo and Sendai rotations using a pair of ATR 72s. It is also about to receive its third aircraft, an ATR 42, soon, which will allow it to launch flights to Nagoya. In the future, it aims to reestablish air service at Sado Airport.
Masaki Hasegawa serves as the president of both Toki Air and Toki Aviation Capital.