Japanese gov’t backs Tokyo 2020

TOKOYO - The Associated Press

Japan’s parliament has passed a resolution supporting Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.
 The resolution passed yesterday by the Upper House followed a similar vote on Dec. 6 in the Lower House, giving Tokyo’s second consecutive bid for the Olympics the full support of the government.

“Hosting the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo would be a wonderful way of demonstrating our gratitude to the international community for the kind support and encouragement it has extended to Japan in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the ensuing tsunami in March,” Upper House member and seven-time Olympian Seiko Hashimoto said.

Tokyo, which hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics, lost its bid to host the 2016 Olympics to Rio de Janeiro. The city is up against Doha, Qatar; Istanbul, Turkey; Madrid and Rome for the chance to host the 2020 games. The International Olympic Committee will select the winning city in September 2013.

The Japanese Olympic Committee has said if Tokyo wins the right to host the 2020 Olympics, the regions devastated by the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster could host some of the events.

Tokyo is promoting its 2020 bid as a symbol of Japan’s recovery from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 20,000 people dead or missing on the northeast coast.