Tokyo prepares for 2020 Olympics as concerns about budget increase

Global Business

As the world bids goodbye to the Rio Olympics, all eyes are on the games’ next host city: Tokyo.

CCTV’s Terrence Terashima reports.

It was a moment of excitement for Japan, when it won the bid to the Summer Olympic and Paralympic games in 2020. This is the second time Tokyo will host the Summer Olympics.

However, Tokyo is off to a less-than-stellar start in preparing for the 2020 Games. Apart from having to revise the official logo under allegations of plagiarism, and giving up on the overly-expensive stadium design, the rising costs in hosting the 2020 summer Olympics and Paralympics has raised public concern.

According to a Japanese public broadcaster survey conducted in December 2015, there has been a sixfold increase in the cost to host the 2020 Olympics from the original estimate of $2.5 billion.

The surging costs of construction materials and personnel expenses is expected to push the final estimate to $15 billion.

In a recent survey conducted among Tokyo residents, more than half of the respondents said they do not want to see the cost increase further, especially after the earthquakes that shook Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture in April. Many say funds are much more needed for those cities to recover.

Despite some early setbacks, preparations for 2020 Tokyo Olympics are well-planned, officials said.

“I realize there are a number of criticisms now and I would expect more as we approach 2020,” said Toshiro Muto, director general of the Tokyo organizing committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. “Some would not be in our favor but it is important for us to be sincere and secure understanding form the public.”


Michael Czinkota on Japanese economy, preparation for 2020 Olympics

For more on Tokyo’s progress in preparing for the 2020 Games, CCTV America’s Jessica Stone interviewed Michael Czinkota, professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.