東京擬申辦2020年奧運會 災後盼復興

東京市長石原慎太郎近日宣佈，東京市將申辦2020年夏季奧運會，希望此舉能夠成爲日本災後重建的催化劑，使各項建設儘快恢復正常。石原慎太郎表示，“雖然2020年離現在還有九年的時間，但我們可以從現在開始着手準備。如果我們帶着希望連續努力九年，日本的重建和復興就會有很大的進展。”2009年，日本斥資150億日元申辦2016年夏季奧運會，最終負於里約熱內盧。2020年夏季奧運會的申辦國須在今年9月1日前提交報名申請，最終獲勝的主辦城市將於2013年9月在布宜諾斯艾利斯公佈。有意申辦此屆奧運會的城市還有德國柏林、韓國釜山、南非開普敦、卡塔爾多哈、意大利羅馬以及土耳其伊斯坦布爾。

Tokyo intends to bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics as a "big catalyst" for Japan's recovery from last month's quake-tsunami disaster.

Shintaro Ishihara was set to win a fourth term as Tokyo governor in local elections across the country which focused on ways to revive Japan after a 9.0-magnitude quake and monster tsunami ravaged its Pacific coast.

"Although they (the 2020 Games) are nine years from now, we can start raising our hand now," he said. "If we will work hard with hopes for nine years ahead, it will be a big catalyst for our country's reconstruction and revival."

In late 2009, Tokyo lost out to Rio de Janeiro in the race for the 2016 Summer Olympics after spending some 15 billion yen (￡107 million) on the bid to stage what it called compact and eco-friendly games.

"There seems to be some tendency within the International Olympic Committee to help Japan, at any rate nine years later when it is expected to have been revived," Ishihara said.

The failed bid was one of two major failures cited in his 12 years at the helm of one of the world's biggest megalopolises. The other was heavy investment in a city-run bank that he helped create but which has fallen deeply into the red.

Candidates for 2020 must submit their bids to the IOC by September 1 this year. The host city will be chosen in Buenos Aires in September 2013.

Berlin, Busan, Cape Town, Doha, Rome and Istanbul are among cities which have signalled their interest in bidding to host the 2020 event in recent years.