Bach
says 2020 events should be held in disaster zone
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[October 19, 2016]
By Elaine Lies
TOKYO (Reuters) - International Olympic
Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has proposed that some 2020
Tokyo Olympics events should be held in the northeastern region
devastated by the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.
Tokyo's Olympic bid pledged that roughly 80 percent of events would
be held within 8 km (5 miles) of the athletes' village in downtown
Tokyo but efforts to cut ballooning costs has already forced several
venues to be moved out of the city.
A review of expenses commissioned by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has
proposed moving rowing and canoe/kayak sprint events some 400 km
north of Tokyo to existing facilities in one of the affected areas,
but this has been opposed by organizers and sports officials as too
hard on the athletes involved.
Games organizers had already been considering staging a baseball or
softball game in Fukushima prefecture, hit by the world's worst
nuclear accident since Chernobyl following the tsunami, but Bach
told reporters after a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that
other sports could also be included.
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"We discussed the idea... to have some events of the Olympic Games
in Tokyo 2020 in the disaster affected areas in order to contribute
to the regeneration of the area, and also to send a message of
confidence and hope to the people there," he added.
Baseball and softball, dropped from the Olympics after Beijing in
2008, are one of five sports to be added to the Tokyo Games.
"An inaugural (game) of baseball with the participation of the
Japanese team could, I think, be a very powerful message," he said.
"But it is not the only option we are discussing."
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![](../images/101816pics/sports74.jpg)
President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach (C)
talks to reporters after meeting Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike at
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Tokyo, Japan, October 18,
2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Mar/14/images/ads/current/tires250x300.gif)
Bach met with Koike on Tuesday and they agreed to form a working
group comprising Tokyo, the central government, 2020 organizers and
the IOC to find ways to avoid wasteful spending, with the first
meeting as early as next month.
After that meeting, Bach, who set into motion cost-cutting reforms
known as "Agenda 2020", did not comment on the proposed venue moves
but emphasized that athletes had to come first and suggested Tokyo
should try to stay close to its bid proposal.
($1 = 103.48 yen)
(Editing by John O'Brien)
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