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.”
“The Japanese people are more used to extravagance now than in 1964 and they may be so conceited that they take everything for granted,” the 79-year-old novelist-turned-politician added. “But I am convinced that expectations about the Olympics will definitely rise as things move forward.” He cited the example of the 2002 World Cup finals which Japan co-hosted with South Korea. “The whole nation really did cheer for the Japanese team as one.” The IOC will vote to choose the 2020 host city in Buenos Aires in September next year. “If, in Buenos Aires, we win the right to host the Olympics, I am convinced the Japanese people will unite as one in a very short period of time to bring about a perfect Olympics.”
