Japan's Olympics organisers say they are reviewing their plans for the venues of Tokyo's 2020 Summer Games due to concerns about cost.
Tokyo Governor Yoichi Masuzoe told a city assembly meeting on Tuesday that the overall plan for the venues needed to be revised.
"We must respond to concerns over rising facilities costs, including rising costs for labour and construction materials," Masuzoe said.
"We will review the plan as soon as possible from that point of view and revise what needs to be revised appropriately and promptly so that there will be no obstacles for the preparations for the Games," he said.
Japan has already informed the International Olympic Committee about its intention to review and revise its plans, the broadcaster NHK cited Masuzoe as saying.
Yoshiro Mori, a former prime minister and rugby enthusiast who heads Tokyo's Olympic committee, issued a statement saying Masuzoe and other members of the committee agreed on the need to revise the plan for the venues.
The statement did not refer specifically to plans to replace Tokyo's National Stadium with a colossal, 80,000-seat facility, the centrepiece of the city's Olympics bid. The proposed new stadium has caused protests over its size, cost and design.
The Japan Sports Council has already scaled back its original proposal to spend 300 billion yen ($A3.25 billion)) on a 75-metre tall stadium to a still-hefty 169 billion yen $US1.7 billion ($A1.84 billion)). It recently presented its plans for the stadium to the Olympics organisers, saying it did not envisage revising the basic design concept but would take other concerns into consideration.
Mori said the Tokyo committee was dedicated to creating a "legacy of sports-centred and affluent, healthy living spaces".
Tokyo, the 1964 Summer Olympics host, failed in a bid to stage the 2016 showpiece but won the right to host the Games in 2020 with a plan emphasising the city's safety and advanced infrastructure. Of the 33 competition venues, 28 will be within 8km of the Olympic Village, which will be built on reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay.
Share
