Olympics Minister Attempts Tokyo 2020 Budget Clarity

(ATR) The new Japanese minister in charge of projects related to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics says he will work to better inform the public of spending related to the project.

Yoshitaka Sakurada, the minister in charge of the Olympics and Paralympics, said to local media that government spending for the Games is less than a recent audit showed.

A report from the government board of audit revealed that the national government had spent $7.1 billion (801.1 billion yen) on Olympics related projects so far. The number appeared at odds with the total $12.6 billion (1.35 trillion yen) budget for Tokyo 2020 agreed upon by the organizing committee, Tokyo government, and national government.

In that budget the national government agreed to fund $1.4 billion (150 billion yen) in projects related to the Games. The AP calculated that the audit showed that Japan could spend up to $20 billion in total in projects related to the Olympics when including similar budget increases from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government with Games-related projects.

Sakurada backed up the 150 billion yen figure, saying many of the projects in the audit had only tangential relation to the Olympics. The ministry told reporters that projects were grouped into three areas, based on relation to the Olympics.

"We will continue to make efforts to carefully explain [the spending] so that we can gain better public understanding of it," Sakurada said as quoted by Kyodo News.

Of the audited project the ministry said $4.83 billion (546.1 billion yen) were part of projects that could be classified as directly related to the Olympics or only less relevant, the Kyodo report said. The numbers presented to the media did not add up to the $7.1 billion (801.1 billion yen) figure because some projects fit in multiple categories, Sakurada added.

Tokyo 2020 spokesperson Masa Takaya welcomed the clarification from Minister Sakurada and said his comments showed there was "no impact on the latest Games budget".

"Working closely with the IOC, the IPC and other relevant parties, Tokyo 2020, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the national government and other parties have estimated a total Games budget of JPY1.35 trillion (USD 12.6 billion); this includes all of the expenditure directly incurred by hosting the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and is based on past Games’ expenses and on the Host City Contract 2020," Takaya said.

"As result of discussions between all Games-related parties, the national government’s budget of JPY150 billion (USD1.4 billion) – JPY120 billion for construction of the new national stadium and JPY30 billion of Paralympic Games expenses – will cover all project expenses that are the responsibility of the national government, based on the agreed division of responsibilities. There is no impact on the latest Games budget, as stated in this report.

"The figure of JPY172.5 billion incorporates expenditure covering such initiatives as athlete development and support to high-performance athletes. These are not strictly Games-related costs, as they do not constitute measures that are compulsory for hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games."

Written by Aaron Bauer

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