Tokyo, June 27 -- A former gold medalist was elected Thursday to lead the Japanese Olympic Committee, which is mired in a scandal that forced the former president to step aside in an alleged vote-buying scheme to land next year's Tokyo Games.

Yasuhiro Yamashita was chosen to take over for Tsunekazu Takeda, who announced earlier this year he would step down at the end of his term. He also resigned from the International Olympic Committee, where he was the head of the powerful marketing commission.

Takeda, who led the JOC for almost two decades, has denied the corruption allegations that are being pursued by French investigators.

Yamashita won gold in judo at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and is one of Japan's most famous athletes. He is...