BY ERIC JOHNSTON, STAFF WRITER   Less than six months after the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, which were delayed one year due to the coronavirus pandemic, another Japanese city is accelerating its preparations to bid for another Games.   But while Sapporo says it can produce an affordable, sustainable Winter Games with existing facilities, questions over public….Read more

Mainichi, Yomiuri, and Nikkei wrote that LDP Policy Research Council Chairperson Takaichi said on an online program on Monday that the GOJ’s announcement of its decision not to send any government officials to the Beijing Winter Olympics came “too late.” The papers wrote that although the government did not use the term “diplomatic boycott,” Takaichi said the government should have….Read more

The Friday editions of all national dailies reported on Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno’s announcement on Thursday that the GOJ will not send to the Beijing Winter Olympics Sport Agency Commissioner Murofushi or any other government officials and that President Hashimoto of the Tokyo Olympics Organizing Committee and JOC President Yamashita will participate instead. While saying that “it is important to….Read more

TOKYO – The cost of hosting the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics last summer is expected to total 1.45 trillion yen ($12.7 billion), meaning there will be no extra burden on taxpayers as the amount is 191 billion yen less than an earlier budget plan, organizers said Wednesday. The cost savings, presented at an executive board meeting of the games’ organizing….Read more

By Yuriko Koike   Yuriko Koike is Governor of Tokyo.   Even in the midst of this unprecedented adversity with the COVID pandemic still rampant, Tokyo successfully held the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 this summer.   In order to avoid spreading the virus, we took measures such as holding the events without spectators and conducting thorough daily tests….Read more

Yomiuri wrote that Prime Minister Kishida said at an Upper House Budget Committee session on Thursday that he has no plans to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics. The paper wrote that the GOJ is planning to forgo sending any cabinet members to Beijing in concert with the United States and the UK. In a related story, Nikkei wrote that the….Read more

Sankei wrote that during a meeting on Wednesday with a conservative LDP lawmaker calling for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Foreign Minister Hayashi said: “We will decide on Japan’s position at an appropriate time while bearing in mind that the Olympic Games are a peaceful event.”

The Sapporo Municipal Government has unveiled an amended proposal for hosting the 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. Among its features are a pronounced emphasis on using existing facilities, and wide-ranging cost reductions.   The 2020 Tokyo Games held this past summer showed how difficult it is to whip up public support for holding the event.   Sapporo’s government opted to….Read more

Nikkei wrote that pressure is growing within the LDP on Prime Minister Kishida to announce a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics. Many conservative lawmakers, including former Prime Minister Abe and Policy Research Council Chairwoman Takaichi, are reportedly pressing the Kishida administration to take a concerted line with the United States, Australia, the UK, and Canada, which have already decided….Read more