InsideJapan News Network

Jacques Chirac, the former president of France, has thrown his support behind Tokyo's bid for the 2016 Olympic Games.

Speaking at a function at the French embassy in the Japanese capital, Mr Chirac said: "I am certain that the Games will find here in Tokyo a fertile ground to send to the world a message of harmony and solidarity."

Tokyo faces stiff competition for the event from Chicago, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro, reports AFP. The International Olympic Committee is to make its final decision in October 2009.

Mr Chirac left office last year and was president of France when Paris failed in its bid to hold the 2012 Olympics which was won by London.

The last time Tokyo held the Olympic Games was in 1964, as the city emerged reborn from the ashes of the Second World War.

Last month, Japan launched a bid to host the rugby World Cup in 2015 or 2019.