A nationwide poll has shown that 65.7% of respondents support Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics, Japan Today reported.
“These results indicate that some 80 million people across the whole of Japan are behind our bid,” Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda said. “This is wonderful news for Tokyo 2020.”
The Japanese capital is up against Doha, Qatar; Baku, Azerbaijan; Istanbul; Madrid and Rome. The candidate cities will submit their plans for the games to the International Olympic Committee by February. The IOC will select the host city in September 2013.
Tokyo is promoting its 2020 bid as a symbol of Japan’s recovery from last year’s earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 20,000 people dead or missing on Japan’s northeast coast.
Tokyo lost out to Rio de Janeiro in a bid to host the 2016 Games, partly due to lower than expected public support. Bid officials have said they are targeting a support rate of 70% for the 2020 campaign.
