Are the 2020 Olympics in good hands?

Sure the Games are in good hands; the tax payers will be paying through the nose for the next twenty years to fund things that will benefit the usual suspects.

They are in the best hands. London 2012 was fantastic, and after the disappointment in Rio, people will be eager for a memorable games, and Tokyo will deliver.

I know that everybody seems pleased as punch that the games have come to Tokyo, but consider the following:

1) The games will be a legitimate excuse to borrow, borrow, borrow, and build, build, build.

2) This will have a terrible impact on Japan's debt

3) As it stand how, a slight uptick in interest rates will KILL Japan, as their entire budget will be spent on servicing the debt

4) Interest rates are predicted to slowly rise over the next 3-4 years, basically killing Japan.

5) The road is littered with countries who borrowed against the future to pay for the Olympics, only to end up in much worse economic conditions (Check Greece, for example)

Again, I know that everybody is happy the Olympics are coming to Japan, but from a financial standpoint, this is not a very good idea.

Japan will be significantly taking on more debt as interest rates rise. This is NOT a good combination. Obviously, I hope I'm wrong, and that Japan (and the world for that matter) has a miraculous recovery, but I honestly don't see how that can happen.

I see this as a reason to ignore their fiscal responsibility and to further damage the economy.

No doubt the games are in great hands but the more important questions should - are the games good for Japan?

I think the Olympics are in very good hands.

The problem is, the NE of Japan is not.

The Olympics are never in good hands because anyone who hosts them ends up in MAJOR debt for it. And with Abe saying that Fukushima has 'never' caused any health problems and that it is 'no problem' you really have to wonder.

who ever voted "no" please go back to China now. If Bejing can pull off an amazing Olympics I think Japan will do just fine. Not to mention they have a hell of lot to prove not only to Japan, but to China, the rest of Asia and the entire world that Japan is still an economic power house despite years of trouble.

Hard to say until we know what's happening about broadcasting. Generally, broadcasts in Japan are less exclusive than in the U.S., for example, where you're screwed if you don't have premium cable. That's my impression, anyway.

Of course Japan can do this better than anyone, but like all the previous posts ... at what cost? That Olympic Village will be completed before the people of Tohoku have been resettled or reimbursed. Now that is SAD!

This will be a more noticeable Olympic, because people from S.korea or China and some other people will stand out for the historic problem and dispute territerion issue from time to time, and more people of other nations will focus on these topic.

This a challenge.

What hands are we talking about? The IOC? Cuz, y'know, maybe not so much, then...

Hard to say until we know what's happening about broadcasting.

Thought about that myself. Is NHK actually going to show sports and non Japanese athletes or continue their tradition of only showing Japanese competing.

who ever voted "no" please go back to China now.

I think that's an invalid comparison. China had never hosted the Olympics and they needed it just like Japan needed 1964. It pushed Beijing to improve their transport network and they could afford to splash out. Japan is already in serious debt and though the railway/subway are excellent, they can't be improved. I'd hate to experience the trains during the Olympics, especially commuting.

And as for the things gaijininfo listed - yes true. But it's not my country and I never asked for it, so I don't give a d*mn.

@giajinfo There is a counterbalancing effect of that investment, and compare pre1964 Tokyo with post period and yuo can see the infra investments did, and are still paying off. So, there will most likely be a significant increase in debt, but the goal of Tokyo met and even the national governments is to provide a platform for growth. I think it will be a positive, but I am a Keynsian type!

On two of your points....

3) As it stand how, a slight uptick in interest rates will KILL Japan, as their entire budget will be spent on servicing the debt

Yes, it would definitely hurt. But who sets the rates? Also, Kampo still has trillions of yen in peoples savings to keep borrowing costs low.

4) Interest rates are predicted to slowly rise over the next 3-4 years, basically killing Japan.

As above basically, but interested where you read that, or if it is just an assumption?

the olympics are in the radioactive hands of a country that generally hates foreigners...

the olympics are in the radioactive hands of a country that generally hates foreigners...

Nope, just SOME foreigners, usually the negatively minded ones who tend to generalise a lot. I'm sure you know who we mean!!