Debt-Strapped Japan Planning a No-Frills Olympics
- Muto says IOC supports Tokyo effort to keep lid on spending
- Tokyo has already scrapped plans for $2 billion stadium
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Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic Games will be the first of a leaner type of competition that will limit spending on big-ticket venues to avoid alienating the public, Chief Executive Officer Toshiro Muto said, two months after debt-ridden Japan canceled plans for a futuristic main stadium.
The International Olympic Committee last year set out a new agenda that favors existing venues over purpose-built stadiums, as concerns mount in potential host countries over the burden of holding the event. Public anger over the cost of Tokyo’s flagship stadium swelling to $2 billion damped initial euphoria over the Games, prompting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to scrap the design and seek new bids after trimming the budget by more than a third.