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The central government aims to accelerate preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics following the outcome of Sunday’s Tokyo gubernatorial election.
There are many issues to address, such as how to cover the ballooning costs of managing the Games and measures against possible terrorist attacks. The government plans to establish cooperative ties with Yuriko Koike, who won the Tokyo gubernatorial election after conservative political parties were split over which candidate they wanted to support.
The government will also rebuild its framework of cooperation with other entities concerned, including the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Since the decision in 2013 that Tokyo would host the 2020 Games, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has regarded ensuring a successful Games as one of his administration’s most important tasks. However, the government and the organizing committee were criticized over insufficient transparency in their decision-making processes after initial designs for the new National Stadium and emblems of the Tokyo Games were scrapped.
Two Tokyo governors who were close to the administration were forced to resign over money-and-politics scandals.
Aides to the prime minister feel an increasing sense of urgency. “There are less than four years until the opening [of the Tokyo Games], so no more delays can be allowed,” one said.
The central government, the Tokyo metropolitan government and the organizing committee must closely collaborate to prepare for the Tokyo Games. In addition to talks on how to share the financial burden involved, they need to cooperate on anti-terrorism measures, measures related to public security, and actions to rally public opinion.
The relationship between Abe and Koike is said to be delicate. When Abe ran for president of the Liberal Democratic Party in 2012 in a bid to regain the post of prime minister, Koike supported his rival Shigeru Ishiba, now the minister in charge of vitalizing local economies.
After the inauguration of the second Abe Cabinet, Koike was given the cold shoulder while Abe promoted a sizable number of women to key government and party posts.
But in the latest gubernatorial election, Abe did not openly support Hiroya Masuda, the candidate endorsed by the LDP. A party source said, “It was a move to avoid a deterioration in relations with Ms. Koike.”
(THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN)
