Changing Olympic Plan

The President of International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, made a visit to Japan on Tuesday to discuss the plan of Tokyo Olympic 2020. In the meeting with the Governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, Bach proposed to launch a working group for settling the dispute over stadium for rowing and canoe sprint by IOC, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Japan Olympic Organization Committee and the government of Japan. It was unusual proposal for IOC to intervene domestic disagreement on where one of the Olympic games should take place.

Reducing the cost for Tokyo Olympic has been one of the greatest political agenda for Koike, who was elected a few months ago. Although Tokyo Government estimated the cost for constructing Forest of the Sea Water Stadium for rowing and canoe sprint to be ¥6.9 billion, the price had swollen as much as ¥103.8 billion after winning the ticket of Olympic 2020.

Koike started review of the plan right after she was elected in July. The investigation team for Koike proposed to change the plan from building up a new stadium in Tokyo, where price of real estate is extremely high, to using existing stadium in Town of Tome, Miyagi. When Koike visited Tome to see the stadium, the people in Miyagi, including Governor Yoshihiro Murai, welcomed the plan of having Olympic games there. Miyagi is one of the devastated places in East Japan Great Earthquake five years ago.

The meeting was entirely open to the press with proposal by Koike. “As my campaign promise, I had been saying that the plan for Olympic stadiums needed to be reviewed. Eighty percent of the people approve review of the cost,” told Koike to Bach. “I do not hope mottainai,” replied Bach, using Japanese expression for regretting extravagance.

But, Bach did not forget to draw a baseline that changing plan after winning the ticket had to be unfair. Considering the trend that candidates for future Olympic were reluctant to pay a great amount of money for hosting, Bach had to balance the need for cost-cut and maintaining rule for invitation. Upholding a principle of “athlete first,” Koike told that organization on rowing and canoe might be invited to the discussion.

In the meeting with Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, on Wednesday, Bach proposed to have baseball games in the suffered place of East Japan Great Earthquake. Three cities in Fukushima have been inviting baseball or softball games. Abe agreed on the idea of reducing cost and promised cooperation in the measures of anti-doping. It was also unusual for President of IOC to propose changing plan of Olympic games.