The Tokyo Municipal Government main office building is lit up in Olympic colors to celebrate Tokyo's successful bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo on Tuesday.
© Japan TodayOlympic light-up
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The Tokyo Municipal Government main office building is lit up in Olympic colors to celebrate Tokyo's successful bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo on Tuesday.
© Japan Today
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combinibento
A fitting place to put the Olympic colors; that building was designed by renowned architect Kenzo Tange, who also happened to design the Yoyogi National Gymnasium - where the 1964 Tokyo Olympics were held.
nath
Oh no, I guess we now have seven years of Olympic fluff stories to look forward to...!
plasticmonkey
How much did this self-congratulations cost, and who paid for it?
ambrosia
combinibento: That's a nice coincidence!
plasticmonkey: Seriously, probably not all that much since it's just lights and not that many of them. I completely understand being apprehensive about 7 more years of countdown events but come on, give 'em a break. They were just announced as the winning city. Surely a little celebration is in order. And I didn't/don't even support Tokyo as the host city.
plasticmonkey
Yes, if everyone can agree that being chosen to host the Olympics is "winning". Those statistics about Tokyoites' enthusiastic support were cooked up by the city government, which had already begun collecting tax money for the project before it formally announced running. It was already decided, and the media gladly went along (for their own financial interest) by never affording much serious discussion to the issue.
This is just a celebration of big money's hold on government and media. I don't want to celebrate that.
Magnet
I wonder how the people up in Tohoku feel about this use of tax-payer money...
smartacus
Magnet
The money to light up the building (which isn't much) would not be going to Tohoku anyway. It is from the Tokyo metropolitan government coffers.
I wish JT readers would learn how government budgets are formulated and allocated so that we don't have this constant whining for the next seven years about how the funds for this project or that event could have been spent on Tohoku.
StormR
Some people need to realise the difference between Tokyo and the Nation of Japan.
Tokyo will be using its own funds not funds for Tohoku.
Thunderbird2
I've loved that building ever since MechaGhidorah flattened it in 1992 lol
It looks beautiful... I saw it for the first time in 2006 and it was an incredible sight. Up until then I had only seen Japan through others' eyes, so seeing iconic buildings like this for the first time was a very emotional experience.
Kurobune
Exactly, Brainiac, exactly !
daito_hak
@StormR @Brainiac
This is true though it all comes to tax money anyway. But I tell you this.
Tokyo is more responsible than any other place in Japan for the nuclear disaster which occurred in Fukushima. Practically all the electricity produced at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant was sent and consumed in Tokyo, all of it. Tokyo is responsible for the existence alone of Daiichi, it's responsible for being a black hole for energy given the astonishing amount of energy wasted in this city and having indirectly pushed reckless practices in the nuclear industry. Tokyo owns a limitless responsibility to the victims in Fukushima. Therefore it should devote its energy and resources to help these people and stabilize Daiichi not spending billions of dollars in organizing Olympics which won't benefit really anybody.
iskysong
is the owner of this building going to light this up everyday for the next 7 years from today?
That would be nice I guess!
Congratz Japan, you deserve to host the BIG GAMES!!!