TOKYO: Japanese Minister Shunichi Suzuki has claimed that hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020 in the country would cost 1.35 trillion Japanese Yen ($121.7 billion), Japan Times reports. The city of Tokyo and the Organizing Committee of the Games will be contributing 600 billion Yen ($54 billion) each while the national government will be granting a subsidy of 150 billion Yen ($1.35 billion).
Suzuki claimed that the Games are entering the “executing phase” with two years left for the event, with his “role like that of a commander” which is a “heavy duty to fulfill.”
“We think that we have to make sure we expose issues one by one and cope with them systematically,” Suzuki was quoted as saying in an interview with the newspaper.
“Spending as much financial resources as we are, it will not be a games just for Tokyo but games for all of Japan.
“And in order for the citizens of this country to realize it is a games for of all Japan, it is vital for us to give them the feeling they could all be involved in the Olympics and Paralympics in one way or another.
“Otherwise, it will not succeed, ” he added.
The national and the Tokyo government are promoting the ‘Host Town’ program amongst the unique initiatives. This program is expected to encourage local governments in Japan to come on board as host towns so that the residents can feel a huge part of the events by interacting with people from other regions and countries through sporting, cultural, economic programs and so on.
Half the expenditures of the exchange activities spent by the local governments will be covered by a special local allocation tax subsidy. These exchanges are expected to be sustained after the event as well as a total of 320 local governments have been approved while a 100 countries and regions have become host town partners.
In Tokyo, for instance, Setagaya Ward has become a host town for the United States while Ota Ward will host Brazil.
He also revealed that with cooperation between the Japan Tourism Agency and Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the nation has selected 1,260 medical institutions that can accept non-Japanese tourists.
When it comes to transportation, Suzuki said the government is working on requesting shipping companies to decrease their weekday traffic volume by 15 percent during the events.
“The Olympics and Paralympics are not just a festival of sports but a festival of cultures as well,” the 65-year-old continued.
“Japan is a country that has a long history and has traditional cultures based upon the long history. Elsewhere, we have our own youth culture recently as well. Taking this opportunity in 2020, we would like to introduce our culture to the world.”
