The disaster last March left nearly 20,000 people dead or missing and, although it did not directly affect the Japanese capital, the Tokyo bid is positioning itself as an opportunity to lead the efforts to help the country recover.

"There is really a sense of stagnation," said Mizuno, the chief executive of Tokyo 2020.

"Japan needs encouragement and hope.

"We use the word 'revival' wishing to bring pride back to the Japanese people."

The ever-jovial Mizuno is one of Japan's most successful businessmen having previously been the chairman of Mizuno, one of the world's leading sports equipment companies.

He revealed more details of Tokyo's bid following the submission of their Applicant City file to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne on Monday (February 13) at a ceremony attended by several of Japan's top sportsmen, including Kohei Uchimura (pictured above), the double Olympic gymnastics silver medallist at Beijing.

Under the plan, the 54,000-seat National Stadium (pictured), the main arena for the 1964 Games in the centre of Tokyo, will be rebuilt to a capacity of 80,000 and would also be able to be used for the 2019 Rugby World Cup finals.


The Athletes Village would be built on a landfill near the central district of Ginza which, following the Games, would become the Tokyo International Exchange Plaza, a residential and mixed-use development that will become a major cultural and education centre housing facilities for international students and global
institutions

Thanks to the "legacy" of 1964 and other major world sports events Tokyo has hosted, 15 of the 35 venues for the 2020 Games are already built, including the Miyagi Stadium near Sendai, one of the cities hardest hit by the March disaster.

The city would host football during the Olympics.

A cluster of new permanent venues will be located in the developing Sea Forest Park overlooking Tokyo Bay.

"The Reconstruction Advisory Committee has been involved in extensive discussions over the types of businesses that have the possibility to provide most inspiration and hopes for its younger generation's future," said Masaru Hosoi, head of the Bureau of Sports of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and chair of the Reconstruction Advisory Committee.

The threat of the country being hit by an earthquake remains an issue - a recent University of Tokyo study warned that there was a 70 percent chance that a strong 7.0-magnitude quake would hit the capital soon - but Mizuno claims that they are equipped to deal with disaster if it happens. 

"As for seismic [safety] standards, Japan is very strict," Mizuno said.

"Wherever it happens, we have all kinds of measures already prepared."

He added there might be "some" damage from such a tremor but the country can minimise it.

"So we have confidence," he said.

This will be Tokyo's second consecutive campaign for the Games having bid unsuccessfully for 2016, which were awarded to Rio de Janeiro.

British bookmakers have made them the favourites on this occasion but they face tough competition from Baku, Doha, Istanbul and Madrid, although the decision of Rome not to bid because of the economic crisis affecting Italy throws it wide open.


"We have worked hard to improve the plans we presented in 2016, and to make sure that they are fully integrated with the city and its people," said Tsunekazu Takeda, the President of Tokyo 2020 President and the Japanese Olympic Committee.

"The first proof of that is in this strengthened initial venue plan."

Having the main Olympic Stadium in the centre of the city as opposed to the 2016 plan for a pier on the Tokyo waterfront is already a major improvement, as the IOC claimed the previous plan made it too inaccessible.

Uchimura has already promised to work tirelessly on behalf of the bid.

"Our bid isn't just for Tokyo; it's for our entire country and for our people, coming together as one," he said.

"I want to see Japan energised by this bid, and the first step for me to contribute to this Movement is to give my all at the London Olympics, leaving nothing behind."

To see the full contents of Tokyo 2020's Application File click here(41.41 MB).  

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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