Panel head says Tokyo 2020 organizers not cooperating to reduce costs

... the projected cost for the original Sea Forest venue on Tokyo Bay soared to nearly 50 billion yen ($480 million), seven times the initial estimate...

Say whatever you want during the bidding to get the games, then reveal the actual costs without any recourse. No accountability whatsoever and all this 'construction' - in the case of rowing and canoeing - just to see who can go from point A to B across water the fastest...

“There is nobody who plays the role of a CEO or a CFO,

What did anyone expect it's a Japanese government organized and run committee. Everyone has their hands in the cookie jar and no one is accountable.

Rowing is a fine and majestic sport, but only in the world wide cities that make it an event since they have the bays lakes and venues. It has to be accepted by world wide associations to be of merit of using. Therefore unless the venue is already Olympic calibre like in SK, oodles of cashola...er I mean money will need to be spent.

For Japan, suddenly making Tokyo encourage a habitable design for human beings not going to work will take more time than they have

There is no plan

Don't make promises you can't keep. It's almost 2017, you guys better do something.

How do you spell debacle?

Ishihara and the others who refuse to cut costs are the dregs of Japan. May justice be served.

This will appear mean but I hope the 2020 Games are a disaster as that may offer the necessary reason to rethink the Olympic Fames in their entirety. When you get down to it, the Games are sports and nothing more. The amount of money and time and sacrafice "necessary" to hold them has lost all perspective. I am hoping that the infamously slow Japanese division-making machine continuous to clank-and-grind and in 2020 we wind up existing facilities. And if the IOC doesn't like it they can find another city----something that is becoming increasingly difficult to do.

Is anyone surprised in the slightest?

Not only are the bureacrats running the show comparable to a bunch of elementary school kids in suits, but also, of course they don't want to co-operate to reduce costs. It would mean fewer kickbacks for all the amakudari oyaji that have ties in the construction companies.

Unless they are collecting taxes what else are they good at....ahhh yes, wasting it!

Just split it between Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo. Enough hotels, enough venues. Everything is for Ishihara, oops, I meant Tokyo.

No one running the ship? They don't even have a project manager?

money has already changed hands, golden parachutes promised etc.

Japan doesn't simply struggle with corruption, Japan operates on corruption.

Isn't it still unsafe to be holding sporting events in Miyagi, especially for young athletes?

Ishihara and the others who refuse to cut costs are the dregs of Japan. May justice be served.

Ishihara, if you haven't noticed is not involved with the Olympics, I wonder why anyone would bring him into the discussion now?

Matsuzoe had more of a hand in bringing the Olympics to Tokyo than Ishihara ever did, and if anything Koike SHOULD be attempting to force the people who bid on the sites to honor their agreements at the costs they initially quoted.

The companies who were involved with the bidding should foot the bill NOT the taxpayers.

Cant really blame them when Abe promises away $8 Billion to the development of Myanmar...

Reminds me of my brother back in college days... he would always complain about having no money and being unarble to pay his bills, yet he was eating out almost everyday, and always had the latest nintendo or whatever.

As a resident of Miyagi I would like to tell you a little about the projected site.

Firstly, as the article mentions the transport connection would have to be upgraded. In other words it is in the middle of nowhere.

Secondly, it is a marsh pond that is part of the Izunuma Uchinuma lake complex. Over twenty years ago I camped on the banks, woke up at 4 am and watched the departure of 10's of thousands of migratory waterbirds on their way from Siberia to Australia. To say that this area is an important wetland is an understatement and its value has been appreciated by locals and international researchers and visitors for a long time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izunuma-Uchinuma

Thirdly, Sendai (in Miyagi) hosted 3 games in the Soccer World Cup. A staduim was built. It is huge, empty and the upkeep is a total waste of money. No one has the nerve to propose pulling the place down.

I simply do not understand why the governor of Miyagi is pushing so hard to have the (totally useless) rowing facility built here.

Am I missing something? (That is an opening for anyone with an idea of what might really be going on)

@bruin:Why are you blaming Ishihara?

That settles it: Boycott Olympic sponsors and advertisers.

Original cost ballooned up when organizers cancelled design of original because the designer is not Japanese The cost was not cut. And went up. Up. Don't give false credit to Ishihara as cost cutter. The speaker is griping it is too expensive.

Everyone wants its share of the cake, pretty sure most of the construction companies have relations with the government crooks ...

What is so difficult with the concept, "What's in it for me?"

I still can't understand how it can cost $480 million to "build" a rowing course on a stretch of water. The water already exists: all they need to do is put a few buoys down to mark out a course. What is the other $479,999,000 being spent on?

why would these "special advisors" want to reduce cost, theyre in the pockets of the construction firms. the more money they scam the bigger the bags of cash

I still can't understand how it can cost $480 million to "build" a rowing course on a stretch of water. The water already exists: all they need to do is put a few buoys down to mark out a course. What is the other $479,999,000 being spent on?

I don't know what specifically will cost that much, but there are a whole whack of other costs, including cameras (overhead, underwater, alongside), timing, referee platforms, viewing platforms. Those are off the top of my head, I'm sure there are many, many more.

Is there a debt clock online for Japan as there is for the US?

Additional expenses include 'pork' and 'brown paper envelopes'....

Dido to many comments. Too bad that these bureaucrats couldn't be bothered with what is efficient to the rest of us. So true that some fishy stuffs are being hidden...... surely Mr Mori n the committee wouldn't want to reconsider what have been 'finalised'.....lose face sort of issue ??

Vultures dont cooperate.

Is there a debt clock online for Japan as there is for the US?

Here's one: http://www.usdebtclock.org/world-debt-clock.html

I simply do not understand why the governor of Miyagi is pushing so hard to have the (totally useless) rowing facility built here.

I can see plenty of reasons, all of them cash-based.

Matsuzoe had more of a hand in bringing the Olympics to Tokyo than Ishihara ever did,

I'm afraid not. This Olympics has already been dubbed (ages ago) as Ishihara's Olympics. Ishihara even appointed his old gaffe-prone chum Mori to head it up.

Maybe next year they'll get a project manager? (ahahaha..) Japan, what are you doing?

Whatever happened to the Japan of 30 years ago.... when things were done on time and at or below budget?

ADK99.... wow Japan at 254% public debt

@Toshiko. You are right. Curse Matsuzoe. Ishihara has enough bad karma for the fish market corruption.

Olympic minister needs to demand Abe etch to cough up money. Instead of fening our giving Money to other countries.. or is Oominister still hating Koike? Investing to Tokyo will bring more profit than investing to dangerous coolountry.

Ishihara was not with. Mori group. Not even in stadium design procedure.