Japan Press Weekly

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2013 June 26 - July 2 TOP3 [ARTS AND SPORTS]

IOC should consider public concerns over Olympic bid

A report released by a commission of the International Olympic Committee in regard to the 2020 Olympic bid race fails to reflect Tokyo citizens’ opinions in a fair manner.

The IOC Evaluation Commission on June 25 published a report based on results of its visit to the candidate cities of Tokyo, Istanbul, and Madrid in March to assess their plans to host the 2020 Olympic Games.

At a time when Tokyo sought to host the 2016 Olympics, the commission listened to civic groups objecting the bid during its visit to Tokyo. In contrast, commission members this time had no opportunity to meet with such groups.

One of the opponent groups consisting of lawyers and sports-loving Tokyoites expressed their concerns about Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics in terms of disaster prevention and weather conditions.

The IOC report states that Tokyo has implemented the “necessary safety” measures against earthquakes and tsunamis. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government, however, released after the evaluation commission departed from Tokyo a map noting areas predicted to experience earthquake-caused liquefaction. The areas marked on the map as possibly suffering from liquefaction include construction sites for 10 Olympic-related facilities, including the Olympic village.

Regarding weather conditions, Tokyo has hot and humid days in summer. The temperature climbs to more than 31 degrees Celsius (or 88 degrees Fahrenheit) with high humidity almost every day during the summer, in particular, between late July and early August, the planned Olympic Games period.

While the Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee in its candidature file states that the period provides “ideal climate for athletes to perform their best”, the Japan Sports Association’s guideline for preventing heat-related disorder calls on the public to avoid strenuous activities during such months of high temperature and humidity. The IOC report neglects to mention this information, though it is closely related to athletes’ health and performance.

A host city for the 2020 Olympic Games will be elected at the IOC’s general assembly in September based on the report.