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 Anger over the stadium, the estimated cost of which had climbed to
$2.1 billion, almost twice its expected cost when Tokyo won the bid
for the Summer Games in 2013, had become a liability for Abe as he
pushes unpopular defense bills through parliament.
The new National Stadium was also meant to have been the centerpiece
of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Support for Abe, who returned to office in 2012 pledging to bolster
defenses and reboot the economy, has slipped to about 40 percent on
voter doubts about the defense legislation. News about the stadium
has fed into that discontent.
"We are scrapping our plans for the stadium, and starting from
zero," Abe told reporters after meeting Olympics Minister Toshiaki
Endo and Education Minister Hakubun Shimomura.
Referring to the furore over the cost, Abe said: "The Olympics are a
party for our people, and they and the athletes, each one of them,
are the main players. We need to make it something that they can
celebrate."
Tokyo won the Olympics on a reputation for getting things done, but
immediately ran into problems with costs and a roll back of some
promises, such as keeping most sports venues within 8 km (5 miles)
of the Olympic village.
The stadium, designed by British-based architect Zaha Hadid and
likened to a bicycle helmet, has been criticized as expensive,
grandiose and unsuited to the site, where a stadium built for
Tokyo's 1964 Olympics stood until it was demolished recently.
Abe said that new arrangements would have to be made as soon as
possible. But he made no mention of costs and whether this meant
another competition for a design, or if another design from a 2012
competition would be used.
Though scaling back stadium plans is not uncommon and happened for
the London 2012 Games and Sydney 2000 Games, changing plans entirely
at this stage is unusual.
Officials had previously said changing the design would damage
Tokyo's reputation.
Media said the Rugby World Cup would be held in an existing stadium,
and the government was aiming to keep costs for the new stadium to
about 180 billion yen ($1.45 billion).
The stadium was originally estimated to cost 130 billion yen, but
last year estimates rocketed to 300 billion yen. Last month, the
government put the cost at 252 billion yen ($2.03 billion).
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Political experts said the stadium decision was aimed at bolstering
support hit by the furore over the security legislation, which
includes changes that would allow Japanese troops to fight overseas
for the first time since World War Two.
Tens of thousands of people have protested against the legislation,
which was approved by parliament's lower house on Thursday.
"It's pretty blatant," said Steven Reed, a political science
professor at Chuo University. "It's a wise play, but whether it will
work or not is hard to tell."
Landing the Olympics added luster to Abe's administration, but plans
quickly bogged down. The demolition of the old stadium was delayed
and organizers broke promises to keep most venues close to the
Olympic Village.
Jim Heverin, the project director for Zaha Hadid Architects, said in
a statement that the escalating costs were not design-related.
"It is not the case that the recently reported cost increases are
due to the design, which uses standard materials and techniques well
within the capability of Japanese contractors and meets the budget
set by the Japan Sports Council," Heverin said.
"The real challenge for the stadium has been agreeing an acceptable
construction cost against the backdrop of steep annual increases in
construction costs in Tokyo and a fixed deadline."
(Additional reporting by Linda Sieg and Kaori Kaneko; Editing by
Paul Tait, Robert Birsel)
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