Tokyo officials feud with IOC
Tokyo officials have turned up the volume on their quarrel with Olympic leaders, who this month announced the marathon and race walking courses for the 2020 Summer Games would be moved far from the city.
Concerned about heat in the capital region, the International Olympic Committee decided to relocate the competitions 500 miles north to Sapporo, where temperatures could be significantly cooler.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike issued a terse response, saying her government was “very surprised to learn of this sudden change in direction.” On Tuesday, members of Koike’s political party held a news conference to assert the move would cost about $310 million.
“You get the sense that no considerations have been made for the athletes or the spectators who had already bought their tickets and who were looking forward to these events,” Taro Shirato, a member of the metropolitan legislature who is herself a triathlete, told reporters. — David Wharton
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