Japan’s Olympic Committee (JOC) will decide August 30 on which candidate will represent Japan in its bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games – Tokyo or Fukuoka. In reports being compiled by the JOC, Tokyo comes out on top, reports the Asahi Shimbun, mainly due to the metropolitan government’s financial resources and the fact that it has already secured land on which the main stadium and athletes’ accommodation will be built.
But at a hastily called news conference Fukuoka Mayor Hirotaro Yamasaki not only criticized Tokyo’s bid plan but also spoke out against Tokyo Governor Shintara Ishihara, whose often controversial remarks could, he argued, impede cooperation with other Asian nations when it cam to organizing the event.
The newspaper reports that Yamasaki said, “Tokyo has so many problems (in regard to hosting the Olympic Games), but they have not been revealed (to the public) yet”.
The Tokyo metropolitan government estimates it would have to put up about 50 billion yen toward funding the cost of new facilities since it expects the central government will foot the bill for the main stadium. It is about half the amount Fukuoka is expected to commit to a bid. Sources say the fact that Tokyo has sufficient funds to bid for the Games has made a good impression on the JOB.
Yamasaki said Tokyo had many practical disadvantages compared to Fukuoka, including traffic congestion, which might impede athletes’ access to the competition sites.
He said the only way that Tokyo could get around these problems would be to “hold the Olympic Games in a situation similar to martial law”.
He also dismissed Tokyo’s financial estimate for construction of the main stadium as “unrealistic. I wonder if the Tokyo metropolitan government has talked over the issue with the central government”, he said.
The JOC’s report is due to be sent to a 55-member selection committee on Wednesday.
