It was the personal guarantee by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the IOC Session in Buenos Aires last month that the problems at Fukushima would not overshadow the build-up to the Games that helped Tokyo beat rivals Istanbul and Madrid.

The IOC continues to have that confidence despite a 7.1 magnitude earthquake 370 kilometres east off Fukushima which sent tremors through parts of Japan and caused a small tsunami on Saturday (October 26), Takeda insisted.

Abe claimed the radioactive effects from the plant are contained within a 300-metre radius off the shores of Fukushima.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe claimed at the IOC Session in Buenos Aires, where Tokyo were awarded the 2020 Olympics, the situation at the Fukushima is "under control"

"In Buenos Aires, the Prime Minister made it clear he would personally oversee the situation regarding the contaminated water at the plant," Takeda, who led Tokyo's successful bid, told the Japan National Press Club today.

"And the IOC told me those were the exact words they were waiting to hear.

"The IOC was absolutely reassured by what the Prime Minister said, which is that the situation at the plant will not have any impact on organising the Olympics in 2020."

New IOC President Thomas Bach is due to make a trip to Japan next month, when the IOC will hold an orientation seminar for the 2020 Games on November 14 and 15, when the issue will probably be top of the agenda.

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