Japan
finalizes late start to Olympic stadium after delays
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[November 16, 2015]
By Elaine Lies
TOKYO (Reuters) - As Japan struggles to
get its Olympics plans on track, officials confirmed on Monday that
construction of its new national stadium will start in 2017, the tail
end of its previously stated time frame, after a series of delays.
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The confirmation of the start date for building the centerpiece of
the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games comes at a time when Japan has slid back
into recession as its fragile economy struggles with declining
capital expenditure and sluggish investments.
An outcry by the public over soaring costs led to the scrapping of
the stadium design this summer. It was the first in a series of
embarrassments in a nation long known for its efficiency and
timeliness, a reputation that helped it win the opportunity to host
the Summer Games over Madrid and Istanbul in 2013.
After Prime Minister Shinzo Abe scrapped the futuristic design by
UK-based Zaha Hadid Architects amid furor over the costs, then
estimated at 265.1 billion yen ($2.17 billion), the International
Olympic Committee intervened and called for a January 2020
completion time.
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The stadium was originally set to be completed in time to host key
matches of the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the delay prompted outrage
among rugby officials. The rugby matches will now be held in the
neighboring city of Yokohama.
Japan's sports minister Hakubun Shimomura resigned after Abe
scrapped plans for the stadium design.
In another blow to its reputation, Olympic organizers scrapped the
Games logo in early September over accusations of plagiarism.
The stadium, now estimated to cost 155 billion yen ($1.26 billion),
still has no design plan. A competition is to be held for a new
design with a decision due in December.
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"It's true that this is quite late compared to the original plan,"
said Takakuni Ikeda, vice president of the Japan Sport Council,
which runs the stadium. He noted that a new timetable had been
released in August, after the previous design was scrapped.
The new stadium will replace Tokyo's old structure which was built
to host the 1964 Summer Games. There was a delay in demolition of
the old stadium as well.
The site is now a huge hole in the ground, covered with clover and
dotted with puddles.
"We believe there will be no problems keeping to the schedule,"
Ikeda added.
(Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Kavita Chandran)
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