OlympicTalk · Sep 29, 2016
Photos: Team USA at the White House
TOKYO (AP) — The price tag of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics could exceed 3 trillion yen ($30 billion) unless drastic cost-cutting measures are taken and several key venues are relocated, an expert panel warned Thursday in the latest blow to Japanese organizers.
“Naturally, anyone who hears these numbers is alarmed,” panel leader Shinichi Ueyama said.
The Olympic investigation team was launched by newly elected Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike after she raised concerns about growing cost estimates and the potential burden on the city and its taxpayers.
The panel said the ballooning costs reflect an absence of leadership, as well as a lack of governance and awareness of cost control.