JAPAN: OLYMPICS 2020: Tokyo sees long road ahead after the International Olympic Committee chooses Tokyo as one of three candidate cities to host the 2020 Olympic games

Record ID: 330714

  • Title: JAPAN: OLYMPICS 2020: Tokyo sees long road ahead after the International Olympic Committee chooses Tokyo as one of three candidate cities to host the 2020 Olympic games
  • Date: 25th May 2012
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (MAY 24, 2012) (REUTERS) ( ** BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **) TOKYO 2020 BID COMMITTEE MEMBERS STANDING BEHIND SIGN READING: "TOKYO SELECTED AS 2020 OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC GAMES CANDIDATE CITY" TOKYO GOVERNOR SHINTARO ISHIHARA AT NEWS CONFERENCE FLAGS IN ENGLISH READING: "TOKYO 2020 APPLICANT CITY" (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) TOKYO GOVERNOR SHINTARO ISHIHARA SAYING: "From our previous experience, we know we have just reached the start line. The real battle starts from now." JOURNALIST READING (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) TOKYO GOVERNOR SHINTARO ISHIHARA, SAYING: "I want to tackle head-on and going forward to what will be a really tough competition to get invited to host the Olympics." JOURNALISTS ATTENDING NEWS CONFERENCE TOKYO 2020 BID COMMITTEE MEMBERS VARIOUS OF STREETS OF TOKYO (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 22-YEAR-OLD TOKYO RESIDENT ERI USHIDA, SAYING: "I think there will be a surge of enthusiasm in Japan and it will be great if there is such a piece of good news amidst the dark news after the earthquake and disasters." STREETS OF TOKYO (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 40-YEAR-OLD TOKYO RESIDENT YU KOBAYASHI, SAYING: "I think a lot of money will be spent. Japan is in fiscally difficult times and I don't think we should be of the opinion that we should hold the games regardless of whatever happens."
  • Embargoed: 9th June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVACWMBQI4XS8S3ARLS3QHTWWRJK
  • Story Text: Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara on Thursday (May 24) warned of a long steep climb ahead before Tokyo could be confirmed as the host city for the 2020 Summer Olympic games.
    "From our previous experience, we know we have just reached the start line. The real battle starts from now," said Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara said at a news conference in Tokyo.
    The race to host the 2020 Games was whittled down to Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul after Doha and the Azerbaijan capital Baku were dropped by the IOC on Wednesday (May 24).
    Tokyo, which hosted Asia's first Olympics in 1964, lost out to Rio de Janeiro in the race for the 2016 Games after failing to capture enough public support for the bid.
    Governor Ishihara said the task ahead would be challenging.
    "I want to tackle head-on and going forward what will be a really tough competition to get invited to host the Olympics," Ishihara said.
    Tokyo residents hoped the renewed bid for the Tokyo Olympic will bring a much-needed boost to the economy following the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in March last year, which triggered a nuclear crisis.
    "I think there will be a surge of enthusiasm in Japan and it will be great if there is such a piece of good news amidst the dark news after the earthquake and disasters," 22-year-old office worker Eri Ushida said.
    In a statement to the media on Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda echoed that sentiment, saying that staging the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo would symbolise the country's recovery from last year's deadly tsunami.
    But not all Japanese residents agreed with him, saying the country is going through a fiscally difficult time.
    "I think a lot of money will be spent. Japan is in a fiscally difficult time and I don't think we should be of the opinion that we should hold the games regardless or whatever happens," said 40-year-old Yu Kobayashi.
    The IOC will choose the 2020 host city in Buenos Aires in September 2013.
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