Tokyo governor Naoki Inose said Friday that a leak of radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant will not impact the city’s campaign to secure the 2020 Olympics.
"As far as hosting the games, the situation in Fukushima will not affect Tokyo," Inose was quoted in an AP report.
Earlier this week, about 300 tons of contaminated water leaked from a storage tank at the crippled Fukushima plant. An earthquake and tsunami caused three reactor meltdowns in March 2011, the worse nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.
In other Tokyo news, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe officially confirmed today that he would lead the bid at the IOC Session in Buenos Aires, as Around the Rings reported on Tuesday.
Bid president Tsunekazu Takeda said Abe’s presence at the crunch Olympic vote on Sept. 7 was "a strong sign of how the whole of Japan is united behind and hugely passionate about our bid".
Tokyo 2020 also unveiled its presentation team for the IOC Session. The Japanese PM is joined by Takeda, Inose, CEO Masato Mizuno, Paralympian Mami Sato, Chiharu Igaya, IOC honorary member, fencing silver medalist Yuki Ota, sport director Yuko Arakida, ambassador Christel Takigawa, and international relations director Yukiko Arai.
Tokyo leads Madrid and Istanbul in the final edition of the Around The Rings Olympic Power Index. The Japanese capital scored 77 out of 100 points. Click here to see the index.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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