Q&A: Tokyo 2020 Learns from London 2012

(ATR) As the Paralympics open this week, teams of observers from the cities bidding for the 2020 Olympics will be in place.

Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo each have eight official observer slots, an experience which began a month ago with the Olympic Games. Around the Rings spoke in London with leaders of each city about their impressions so far.

Today, IOC member and Japan Olympic Committee president Tsunekazu Takeda is featured...

Around the Rings:Where are you at the moment with Tokyo 2020? What is the status? You’re using these Games to learn lessons. Then what happens next for Tokyo 2020? What’s the next milestone for you?

Tsunekazu Takeda: Just before the London Olympic Games, we announced our slogan "Discover Tomorrow". This is very short but very meaningful, and now we are promoting the Tokyo Olympic Games successfully.

Those are the things that unite the power, the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and it is a unique value of the Japanese people and the excited city with the new trend.

Now we are making the reality, and the last time we learned a lot of things from 2016, and we have many advice from the IOC, and I am very happy to cover all the advice from the IOC and Jacques Rogge. It is very important for the next stage.

ATR: What would you say is the biggest improvement of this bid file from the last one in 2016?

TT: For example, the Olympic Village is a little bit bigger. There was not enough space last time, and now we have a very nice location seaside and from the Olympic Village, the 8km radius has 93 percent of facilities included inside. That includes the main stadium. Last time, we had a plan to make a new one. Now the main stadium is where we used the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games in the center of the city, and now we rebuild the new stadium.

ATR: At this stage of the race, a bit more than a year to go, are you in good shape? Is Tokyo 2020 in a good mood?

TT: I believe so. This bid is a bid that is different from 2016, and I hope the many people understand what kind of an Olympic Games we wish to put on. Of course, the bidding is always a challenge, everyone knows that we will try our best.

ATR: Since the last bid campaign, the IOC has put in new rules about costs and international promotion. Do you find that limiting?

TT: Now we are planning the budget is less than half of the last time.

ATR: For the whole bid?

TT: Whole bid.

ATR: Approximately what will that figure be?

TT:$60 million or $70 million, or less than half.

ATR: One more question about the public support in Japan that has been a problem and that remains a problem with the bid like it was in 2016 – are you finding that there is more support, slowly but surely, for Tokyo 2020?

TT: Yes, we worked harder, and now we are starting to use the internet, social media and the support is coming up. Last year, we analyzed that we are higher, and we are trying more active promotion for the young people and especially for the women. And in Japan, all over Japan, [people] like Olympic Games. Watching them for the TV, Japan is the highest and that I know that the Japanese people like the Olympic Games but always before the start of the Olympic Games, very quiet Japan.

And if someone gets a medal, so excited, and seven days later maybe they say we should wish to have an Olympic Games.

30 percent of people say nothing. Not say no, not said yes. Therefore, now we say if you want Olympic Games, now you should say yes.

Conducted in London by Mark Bisson.