Tokyo 2020 Launches Operation BATON

Sustainability initiative will support construction of the Athletes’ Village

Tokyo, 18 October 2017 - The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games

(Tokyo 2020) today announced details of the 62 municipalities across Japan which have volunteered to

participate in its Operation "BATON" sustainability programme. BATON stands for "Building Athletes’

village with Timber Of the Nation," and is an initiative to construct the Village Plaza for the Olympic and

Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 using timber produced in the participating municipalities.

"Sustainability" and "engaging all of Japan" are the key driving forces behind this project, which will see

communities across Japan lending locally produced timber for use in the construction of the Village Plaza.

After the Games, the Plaza will be dismantled and the timber returned to the municipalities for them to

re-use.

The Village Plaza will be one of the main facilities in the Athletes’ Village as well as the venue for team

welcome ceremonies, which will put the facility in the public spotlight when these ceremonies are covered

by the media. The Plaza will house a media centre, cafés, florists and general shops as well as provide

services to the athletes, visiting accredited Olympic and Paralympic families, members of the media, and

guests of the athletes.

Participating municipalities

Type Project Organisations (municipalities)

Per building1

Iwate Prefecture

Yamagata Prefecture

Gifu Prefecture, Seki City, Nakatsugawa City, Gujo City, Gero City, Shirakawa Town,

Higashishirakawa Village (total 7 municipalities)

Kumamoto Prefecture

Nichinan City in Miyazaki Prefecture

Tokyo3

Per material2 Monbetsu City in Hokkaido Prefecture

Shimokawa Town in Hokkaido Prefecture

Oketo Town in Hokkaido Prefecture

Engaru Town in Hokkaido Prefecture

Aomori Prefecture

Miyako City in Iwate Prefecture

Tome City in Miyagi Prefecture

Akita Prefecture

Odate City in Akita Prefecture

Yamagata City in Yamagata Prefecture

Kaneyama Town in Yamagata Prefecture

Fukushima Prefecture

Tochigi Prefecture, Kanuma City, Nikko City (total 3 municipalities)

Chiba Prefecture

Sagamihara City in Kanagawa Prefecture

Hadano City in Kanagawa Prefecture

Niigata Prefecture, Kashiwazaki City, Tokamachi City, Murakami City, Itoigawa City, Joetsu City,

Yuzawa Town, Sekikawa Village (total 8 municipalities)

Yamanashi Prefecture

Neba Village, Kawakami Village, Tenryu Village in Nagano Prefecture (total 3 municipalities)

Shizuoka Prefecture

Shizuoka City in Shizuoka Prefecture

Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka Prefecture

Oyama Town in Shizuoka Prefecture

Wakayama Prefecture

Tottori Prefecture

Chizu Town in Tottori Prefecture

Shimane Prefecture

Okayama Prefecture

Tokushima Prefecture

Seiyo City in Ehime Prefecture

Kochi Prefecture, Kami City, Otoyo City (total 3 municipalities)

Nagasaki Prefecture

Oita Prefecture, Hita City, Saiki City (total 3 municipalities)

Miyazaki Prefecture

Kagoshima Prefecture

Total 41 project organisations (62 municipalities)4

1 Volunteer participation on the scale of buildings comprising relatively small rooms.

2 Volunteer participation on the scale of materials for relatively large spaces.

3 Tokyo is participating as the Host City.

4 Applications by multiple local governments under a joint name are treated as one project organisation.

Artist renditions of the Plaza:

Exterior Interior

Note: Images are based on current plans, which are subject to change

For more information: Tokyo 2020 Online Press Room, ID: media password: tokyo2020media

International Communications

Tatsuo OGURA Tristan LAVIER Junichi SATO Kaho AKIYAMA

tatsuo.ogura@tokyo2020.jp tristan.lavier@tokyo2020.jp junichi.sato@tokyo2020.jp kaho.akiyama@tokyo2020.jp

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