Japan

Japan’s Olympics Minister Toshiaki Endo has said he cannot guarantee that organisers of Tokyo’s Olympic Games will be able to meet the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) demand that the city’s new National Stadium is delivered by January 2020.

The Japanese government today (Friday) approved guidelines for Tokyo’s new National Stadium for the 2020 Olympic Games, pledging to develop an athlete-friendly venue as cost-effectively as possible ahead of a targeted completion date of March 2020.

Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan, has apologised to the public after admitting that a decision to go back to the drawing board with plans for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Stadium has been costly.

The International Basketball Federation (Fiba) has provided updates in the governance disputes it has held with the national governing bodies of Brazil, Japan and Russia, while assigning staging rights for its 2016 U17 World Championships for Men and Women to Spain under a new hosting model.

World Rugby has given itself a one-month window to reschedule matches at its 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan after Tokyo’s new National Stadium project was taken back to the drawing board.

Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori has formally apologised to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the saga surrounding the development of the city’s new National Stadium.

The architect behind the scrapped design for Tokyo’s National Stadium has hit back at criticism of its plans, claiming it warned organisers that an uncompetitive selection of contractors would lead to an increase in construction costs.

Key stakeholders behind Tokyo’s staging of the 2020 summer Olympics today (Friday) pledged to deliver a successful Games as the five-year countdown to the start of the event was celebrated amid a troubling period for organisers.

The Japanese government today (Tuesday) outlined a new timeline for the development of Tokyo’s National Stadium as Yoichi Masuzoe, Governor of the capital city, hit out at the role of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet in the original failed project.

World Rugby has called for urgent talks with the local organising committee for the 2019 Rugby World Cup after Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, today (Friday) announced that the main venue for the tournament will not be completed in time.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has today (Friday) ordered a complete review of plans for Tokyo’s National Stadium project in a major about-turn on the development which is set to see it shelved as the main venue for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

The wrangling over the controversial design of the new stadium that will act as the centrepiece of Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic Games continued today (Thursday) as the architect who oversaw the selection of plans for the venue was forced to defend the vision behind it.

Japan’s newly-appointed Olympics Minister Toshiaki Endo has dismissed allegations that his political support groups had received illegal funds as “completely groundless,” as the Japan Sports Council (JSC) confirmed that the controversial National Stadium project will retain its original design.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has hailed Tokyo’s preparations for the 2020 Olympic Games as “outstanding” but has said a careful eye will need to be maintained on the cost of venues for the event.

Veteran politician Toshiaki Endo has been appointed as Japan’s first Olympics Minister ahead of Tokyo’s hosting of the 2020 summer Games.

The Japanese government has elected to retain the ambitious design plans for Tokyo’s new National Stadium, but its cost is now expected to rise by around Y80bn (€576m/$648m) to Y252bn, according to multiple media reports in Japan.