Abe appointed Supreme Advisor for Tokyo 2020 Olympic bid

A day after the Candidature File was submitted in Lausanne, the Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee’s senior delegation on Tuesday visited Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who promised the Japanese government’s continued unequivocal support for the bid.

Abe, a former archer from his university days and current chairman of the All Japan Archery Federation, was named Tokyo 2020 Supreme Advisor.

Abe said: “It is extremely important for the national government to realize our goal of hosting the 2020 Games, and continue in our aspiration to further promote Japan as a sports nation. On a more personal level, my grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, led the Tokyo 1964 bid to its first ever Games in Japan. I will need to coordinate with the Diet accordingly, but I am eager to participate in both the IOC evaluation commission visit in March, and the IOC’s selection of the host city in September at Buenos Aires.

Tokyo 2020’s delegation was led by Tsunekazu Takeda, IOC member and president of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) and Tokyo 2020; Saori Yoshida, three-time Olympic 55-kilogram freestyle wrestling gold medallist; Wakako Tsuchida, five-time Paralympian and Athens Paralympic gold medallist in women's 5000m; Takaharu Furukawa, London 2012 Games archery silver medallist in men’s individual event; and archers Ren Hayakawa, Miki Kanie, and Kaori Kawanaka, all members of the women’s bronze medal team.

The House of Representatives and the House of Councillors both passed resolutions expressing their full cooperation and support for Tokyo 2020 last month. The bid committee responded by inaugurating the Tokyo 2020 Council, a senior advisory board consisting of 64 members from government, including the prime minister, who serves as Supreme Advisor, and leading figures from Japan’s business and sporting communities.

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