InsideJapan News Network

The Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) has revealed it will announce whether the city will bid to host in 2020 Olympic Games in the next few weeks.

Tsunekazu Takeda, the president of the JOC, told Associated Press that people will not have to wait too long to hear whether the city will bid.

''We expect a decision will be in late June or early July,'' he said, adding that ''Tokyo had a great plan for 2016, and has excellent financing'.

If Tokyo does decide to bid for the Games, it would come up against Rome and Madrid, which have both announced an intention to run, along with other cities yet to confirm their entry.

After March's earthquake and tsunami, Shintaro Ishihara, the governor of Tokyo, said that the bid could act as "a big catalyst for [Japan's] reconstruction and revival".

Kazumi Matsui, the mayor of Hiroshima, formally withdrew the city's bid to host the Games last month. Originally a joint bid with Nagasaki, the mayor said that "financial problems" were to blame.

Written by Susan Ballion


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