Triumphant Tokyo delegation returns to big welcome

Congrats, peeps. Don't like the way you used Fukushima to get the bid without actually helping Fukushima, but you got it.

1 billion yen for a new Olympic Stadium. Yeah I think the residents of Fukushima and other tsunami stricken towns that are still living in prefab homes will be also very happy with Japan winning the Olympics.

Two quick points. I was talking to a resident of Sendai yesterday who is quite upset with Tokyo winning the Olympics, as he worries that the manpower and construction materials, that are already in short supply, will all be used in Tokyo, further slowing down the recovery. In today's local newspaper, from April to July, more than 45000 people from Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima called the Tohoku suicide prevention line. These people are still hurting 30 months later, and not enough is being done to help them. I would like to think the Olympics will be something for them to look forward to, but not when your life has been destroyed, and you are still living in a prefabricated shack!

I hope in 7 years there are no people living in temporary homes up north, and there will be some closure to Fukushima. (Of course the plant will not be fully shut down in a couple of decades, but still, some hope as to what the future will look like!)

Tokyo can lead the way.

I hope the media doesn't try to make these faces on the Olympic committee into idols, it kinda seems to be heading that way..........

In my daily rag this morning it appears that ALL the new developments/buildings are little more or only colourful sketches at this point, sounds like there hasn't been much if any REAL planning started......................this will make things likely rather interesting & of course MASSIVELY over any budgets, but in the end they will follow Nagano's example & burn or lose the evidence

And I still wanna see this war chest they say they have, I don't believe it!

overhaul its aging infrastructure. yeah thats all good for Tokyo but what about the rest of the country, 95million. what do they get out of the Olympics, other than another big bill to pay!

Liars often wins on this world!

as well as its reputation for getting things done

As can be seen from the "progress" in Fukushima...

Japanese media has gone into hyperdrive speculating about the changes that may come to Tokyo, with some saying the city's unattractive network of raised expressways - the core of which was built in 1964 - may be relocated underground.

Well let's hope they'll be safer than the tunnels... (not to mention the costs involved to actually do this !)

I have family in Fukushima and they all supported the bid.

I have friends from Fukushima, and some are for the Olympics in the belief that it will help the economy and thus them. Others were against the bid and think it it will distract the country from their plight and the reconstruction efforts. One friend, who lived 3km from the Fukushima site (who has many friends that work at the nuclear plant) says she, and her friends, were appalled to see Abe lie through his teeth about the situation. It is much more serious than Abe makes it out to be - but we already knew that. In 7 years, they'll all probably still be there, putting their lives on the line to contain a broken nuclear reactor. They probably won't have time to watch the Olympics.

Anyway, everyone has a different opinion, and the next 7 years will determine who is right and wrong. Right now the best we can do is hope the games are a success, and the best way to do that is put our support behind it, demand action by the government, and spend our money on tacky souvenirs.

Great job to all those who got this fantastic achievement, a real challenge and to overcome last moment difficulties was supreme effort from all points.

@3kunfuu

They put the country ahead of themselves.

I wonder if Fukushima residents living in temporary housing feel the same way, happily forgoing a normal life so that Taisei Construction can reap the benefits of taxpayer-funded construction projects in Tokyo.

@Governor Inose

So every Tokyo citizen needs to join together, with each person doing what they can according to their abilities.

You mean chip in to pay for this nonsense. I estimate that I've already paid at least ¥50,000 for something I have no say over.

Yeah I saw on TV too about the Olympic village on a few TV channels already. They never mention how much it will cost but only the benefits it will bring. I'm happy that Tokyo won but if there's so much land and resources, perhaps the ppl living in prefab homes or close to the nuclear plant should have been relocated to the capital? O well if that happens everyone will want to be relocated.... how about the families with kids come first?

The best approach is to instead host an event such as the Olympics, which can make the entire nation happy.

lol. Yes, if I lost everything due to government incompetence (inadequate sea walls, lack of oversight of nuclear power stations), and two years on I was still living in makeshift housing, my first priority would be to watch the Olympics on TV in 7 years time.

only seven years in the future

It might not seem like long but we the world will not be the same place in seven years. The system is breaking right now.

Liars often wins on this world!

but never in the end, they always suffer for it

MarkX, I think you made some good points. It's not good that people are still suffering from the effects of the tsunami. But, we must also admit that it's not entirely fair to spend money on individuals, when they may not be allocated the same amount of funding. The best approach is to instead host an event such as the Olympics, which can make the entire nation happy.

Salus, relocating people isn't the right thing to do. It's not fair to everyone else, and it seems like socialism.

Don't like the way you used Fukushima to get the bid without actually helping Fukushima

Don't like the way you use past tense, alhough three or four days have already passed...

papigulio:

1 billion yen for a new Olympic Stadium. Yeah I think the residents of Fukushima and other tsunami stricken towns that are still living in prefab homes will be also very happy with Japan winning the Olympics.

I have family in Fukushima and they all supported the bid. They all agree the money needs to be spent on the Olympics first and foremost. They put the country ahead of themselves.