Japan Monday marked three years before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with celebrations and fanfare — even as organizers struggle to contain soaring costs and restore credibility.
Japanese celebrities and athletes dressed in bright kimonos gathered for the launch of a remake of a popular 1964 Tokyo Olympics song, as organizers promised to turn the 2020 Games into the biggest “natsuRead more
A chastened Japanese Prime Minister vowed on Monday to win back public support after his party suffered a historic drubbing in local elections that media chalked up to growing arrogance and analysts said threatened his continued hold on power.
The Sunday polls, in which Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lost more than half its seats in the Tokyo metropolitanRead more
Tokyo's governor has warned that the bill for the city's 2020 Olympics could yet spiral out of control despite exhaustive efforts to rein in runaway costs.
Governor Yuriko Koike said there was still a danger of costs reaching an eye-watering 3 trillion yen ($26 billion) -- four times more than initially planned -- unless Games organisers keep a tight reinRead more
The chairman of the Japanese golf club set to host the sport at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics said they are bewildered by requests lift its ban on women becoming full members.
Kasumigaseki Country Club in Saitama, north of Tokyo, postponed a decision to review its membership policy following a board meeting on Tuesday after the club came under fire fromRead more
High levels of toxic chemicals were found in groundwater tests at a new facility scheduled to replace Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market -- the world's largest -- clouding the costly relocation plan, news reports said on Saturday.
The controversial project has been delayed over fears about toxic contamination, which also impacted the 2020 Olympics to be hosted by the Japanese capital.Read more
Tokyo and other upcoming Olympic host cities must make an "unwavering commitment" to achieving a successful Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) urged on Monday, as cost overruns plague the run-up to Tokyo's 2020 event.
In a video message to a debriefing in the Japanese capital on the Rio Olympics, IOC chief Thomas Bach hailed them as "marvellous games" heldRead more
Tokyo could be forced to downsize or relocate three venues for the 2020 Olympic Games in drastic cost-slashing measures, the city's new governor said Thursday.
A group of academics and business leaders submitted a proposal to governor Yuriko Koike which included plans to overhaul the swimming, volleyball and kayak facilities, currently estimated at some $1.5 billion.
It comes after aRead more
The Olympic flag arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday as Japan's capital gears up to host the 2020 Games, with officials promising smooth sailing after Rio's sometimes shaky 2016 instalment.
Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike carried the flag during a ceremony at Haneda airport after stepping off a plane from the Brazilian host city, accompanied by a delegation who picked up aRead more
Former defence minister Yuriko Koike has won the Tokyo gubernatorial election to become the first woman to lead the Japanese capital, final election results confirmed Monday.
In Sunday's election, Koike, who ran as an independent, came out ahead of her two main rival candidates: former Internal Affairs Minister Hiroya Masuda and journalist Shuntaro Torigoe. Masuda was recommended by the governingRead more
Tokyo's new governor Yuriko Koike on Monday credited her landslide victory to having stood up to the powers that be in Japan's ruling party who didn't want her to run.
Koike, 64, was elected Tokyo's first female governor in the Sunday vote, winning more than 2.9 million votes, far outpacing the nearly 1.8 million ballots cast for closest challenger HiroyaRead more