Tokyoites will get behind 2020 bid: governor
Tokyo's governor said Friday he was confident that his city and
country will eventually rally behind the capital's campaign to host the
2020 Summer Olympics, despite low public support at present.
"It is unfortunate that the rate of support from Tokyo citizens is
low although the bid is gathering momentum," Shintaro Ishihara told
reporters. "But this may be characteristic of the Japanese people."
The International Olympic Committee last week chose Tokyo, Madrid and
Istanbul as final candidates to host the 2020 Games by eliminating Doha
and Baku.
But an IOC technical report showed the rate of local public support
for the bid was 47 percent in Tokyo against 73 for Istanbul and 78 for
Madrid.
Lack of public enthusiasm for hosting the Olympics was also one of
Tokyo's weaknesses three years ago when it lost to Rio de Janeiro in the
bid for the 2016 Summer Games.
When Tokyo hosted the Olympics for the first time in 1964, Ishihara
said, "Everybody really worked with a sense of unity." AFP |