TOKYO (Reuters) – Tokyo officials say they have not been informed of city governor Shintaro Ishihara’s desire to bid for the 2020 Olympics.

Tokyo lost out to Rio de Janeiro in last month’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) vote to decide the hosts for the 2016 Games, but Ishihara is reportedly keen for another shot.

“There’s been no formal announcement,” the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s international affairs officer Noriko Hachiya told Reuters on Wednesday.

“We have no information beyond this morning’s newspaper reports of Governor Ishihara’s meeting with the JOC vice president.”

Japanese media reported Ishihara had told Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) vice president Tomiaki Fukuda he wanted Tokyo to bid for 2020 after their 2016 disappointment.

Hachiya said Ishihara’s weekly news conference on Friday could shed further light on the matter.

“We expect there may be some questions about a potential Olympic bid at that time,” she said.

CONTINGENCY FUND

A Tokyo official said there was “nothing currently in the diary” about 2020 but confirmed that the comments attributed to Ishihara were accurate.

A decision for another bid would need to be approved by the city assembly.

Tokyo secured a contingency fund of $4 billion for the 2016 Games and Japanese Olympic officials were said to have favoured a bid for 2020 from the start.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only cities to have suffered nuclear attacks, have expressed an interest in jointly hosting the 2020 Olympics.

Ishihara was quoted in Japanese media as saying Tokyo and Hiroshima should table a joint bid. He did not say if Nagasaki would be included.

Under IOC rules, only one city is allowed to host the Games, although some sports, such as soccer and sailing, have been held at separate venues.

Rio won the Oct. 2 IOC vote for 2016, beating Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo, which was the first Asian city to host the Olympics in 1964. London hosts the 2012 Summer Games.

No related posts.