July 31, 2015 Ahead of the 2020 Summer Games open in Tokyo, hundreds gathered in a downtown Tokyo plaza to witness the official unveiling of the tournament.
The officials of the Olympic committee promised to do all in their power to overcome every foreseeable challenge and make the Games a resounding success.
Despite the enthusiastic atmosphere, the crowd wasn’t going to be easily convinced, following a streak of broken promises relating to the game.
The most recent of these broken promises is the prime minister’s decision to take plans for the centerpiece New National Stadium “back to zero” in the face of growing outrage over ballooning costs.
This decision will leave the 2019 rugby World Cup without venues for some of its most important matches, hereby damaging Japan’s reputation in the eyes of the sporting world and possibly hampering the hosting of future sporting events.
The governor of Tokyo, Yoichi Masuzoe had some assurances though, saying
“There have been many problems up to now, including the stadium, and there will no doubt be more, but I firmly believe that if we work together we will be able to overcome everything”.
Olympics Minister Toshiaki Endo, who also heads a committee tasked with developing a new plan for the stadium, told a news conference that plans are indeed back at zero.
“As for construction costs, we aren’t thinking of anything at this point, we are really starting from zero. Nothing is decided yet. We know that there are various opinions”, he said.