Tokyo to step up campaign for Olympic bid

The start of 2013 will signify the beginning of a fierce competition between Tokyo and its two rivals Madrid and Istanbul to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.

In early January, the three cities will be allowed to start international public relations campaigns after submitting their master plans for hosting the Games to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Tokyo hopes to overcome its defeat in bidding for the 2016 Games by stepping up efforts to raise the rate of public support for the bid at home and by boosting promotion activities abroad.

According to a survey by the Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee from late November to December, 66 per cent of the public expressed their support for Tokyo's bid for the Games. The bid committee consists of officials from the Japan Olympic Committee and the Tokyo metropolitan government.

Perhaps partly due to the London Olympics, in which Japanese athletes won a record number of medals, the figure was above the 47 per cent support rate reported in an IOC survey released in May.

Still, bid committee members are not completely satisfied.

"I think the figure should be a little higher," said newly elected Tokyo Governor Naoki Inose on December 21, shortly after taking office. He then announced his goal of raising the figure above 70 per cent.

Some observers are worried because a low support rate would likely be a major hurdle for Tokyo being chosen.

The bid committee is touting its plan of "ultimately compact Games," in which the main competition venues would be concentrated within an eight-kilometre radius from the athletes' village. The plan has met with praise from the IOC, but the low rate of public support is apparently a primary concern.

As of May, the bid approval ratings in Tokyo's two rival cities already topped 70 per cent. The support rate for Madrid's bid was 80 per cent in the latest survey.

The lack of sufficient support for Tokyo's bid can be partly attributed to the Japanese national character, with its tendency to avoid strong declarations, according to a source close to the Tokyo bid committee.

But time is running out to win over the public, as the IOC is expected to conduct another survey on public sentiment sometime in January or February.

3 trillion yen economic effect

Promotional campaigns to boost the approval rating would come at a high cost.

The Tokyo metropolitan government's failure to win its bid to host the 2016 Games despite a massive amount of public spending resulted in serious criticism. This has led the 2020 bid committee to halve the promotional budget to 7.5 billion yen (US$87.32 million).

The bid committee decided to focus primarily on women in its domestic campaign activities.

The IOC survey on public support is expected to be conducted via telephone and the Internet. As for telephone-based inquiries, housewives would likely be the main respondents. To appeal to women, who may have little interest in sports, the bid committee has begun spotlighting Olympic medalists in its promotion campaigns in addition to the popular idol group AKB48 and pop dance group EXILE.

Inose is also making fervent efforts to win support for Tokyo's bid, having appeared live on a daytime TV variety show Tuesday.

"If you're selected to answer questions from the IOC, please tell them, 'We're ready to host [the 2020 Olympics],'" Inose said.

If Tokyo hosts the 2020 Games, an economic effect of about 3 trillion yen is projected for the country.

The bid committee aims to enhance public support by promoting the Games as the "Reconstruction Olympics." It plans to host the soccer qualifying rounds and the torch relay, as well as Olympic trials for Japanese athletes, in areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Appeal to foreign media

The three bidding cities are required to submit their respective master plans to the IOC by January 7. Beginning the next day, they will be allowed to conduct international campaign activities.

At that time, the bid committee will shift its focus from domestic to overseas targets.

Following successful bidding examples in the past, the Tokyo committee plans to make strong appeals to foreign media.

In its bid for the 2016 Games, the committee failed to hold a press conference for foreign media after submitting its master plan. Tokyo eventually was defeated by Rio de Janeiro, which held a press conference in London.

Based on such lessons, Inose and other executives of the bid committee will hold a press conference in London on January 10.

Overseas campaign activities will likely require the cooperation of famous persons who are widely recognised abroad.

"We'd like to request the cooperation of stars who have strong international appeal," said Masato Mizuno, vice president of the Tokyo bid committee.

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