Kimihide Harada, director of international affairs for the Osaka bid committee, said Osaka might re-apply in the future if it was not chosen to host the 2008 Summer Games.
Harada said, “we will continue to do what we’ve been doing. but we have definitely learned lessons that could be useful in the future”.
Harada said that the people of Osaka and the Japanese Olympic Committee would have to be consulted before a repeat bid could be tabled but said the city would be in “even better shape” in the future.
“Of course it would be easier a few years down the line. This is our first time and we haven’t got as much experience as the other cities”, he said.
But Harada said Osaka officials still needed to clear up “one or two misunderstandings” after the IOC evaluation report questioned the city’s ability to finance the Games. Osaka officials have argued that the report mistakenly said that the city investment in non-organizing committee projects such as roads and railways was a massive $28 billion.
“The actual figure Osaka will pay amounts to just 12 per cent of that sum”, said Hiroko Hirazawa, a public relations officer for the city council.
The evaluation report praised Osaka’s sports venues but said transport congestion was another potential problem.
Harada said, “personally, I’d like to see us take up the challenge again in the future if we don’t get it this time”.
When asked what the bid committee would do differently, Harada said he would hope for better communication with the foreign media. “We have been very active promoting Osaka at home but I’d like to see more output from us toward the press abroad. That, too, has been part of the learning process for us”, he said.
