Launched at the second meeting of the Tokyo 2020 Athletes' Commission, the Project will be run by former Olympic and world hammer throw champion, and Tokyo 2020 Sports Director, Koji Murofushi.

"Tokyo 2020's plans to put the athletes first and ensure an athlete-oriented Games is very much on track," he said.

"Among the items on today's agenda was a particular focus on young Japanese athletes.

"We have decided to create a new 2020 Young Athletes' Project, which I will have the honour of leading.

"Our aim is to encourage young athletes to set the Tokyo 2020 Games as their goal, and in so doing we hope this will enable them to perform to the best of their abilities and broaden their minds."

The Project comes on the back of the International Olympic Committee's Agenda 2020 recommendations, passed at the Extraordinary Session in Monte Carlo last month.

One recommendation advocates increased social engagement among athletes, with the 2020 Young Athletes' Project aiming "to encourage athletes to contribute more to society, increase interactions with local communities and become actively involved in a wide range of activities, such as recovery efforts in the disaster-affected areas, it was explained.

Olympic and world hammer throw champion Koji Murofushi is leading the new 2020 Young Athletes' project ©Getty Images



He added:  "My role is to connect with the younger generation, inspire enthusiasm and passion, and urge them to contribute to the building of a fair, equitable and fully-inclusive world - one that has the power of sport firmly at its heart.

"We believe that empowering the next generation of athletes through the 2020 Young Athletes' project will be one of the greatest legacies of the Tokyo 2020 Games."

The meeting, which was led by Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori and saw 17 of Japan's leading athletes in attendance, follows an interesting week for Tokyo 2020.

On Wednesday (January 14) a new panel was set up to study the feasibility of proposing specific sports to be added to the Olympic Games in the Japanese capital.

Japan's most popular sport of baseball looks like a strong favourite to be added to the programme, along with softball, should plans go ahead, while karate, squash, skateboarding, surfing, sport climbing and roller sports are also contenders.

This good news for organisers was followed by further trouble surrounding the controversial National Stadium with demonstrators, led by the "Custodians of the National Stadium", staging a protest walk in opposition to the likely demolition of the venue to make room for a new one.

The new 80,000-seater venue, designed by British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, has faced a series of setbacks due to complaints over cost, size and its impact on the environment.

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