AusLeisure

Tokyo is set to enter the running to host the 2020 Olympics after Tsunekazu Takeda, the head of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC), confirmed that the national body had asked the city to lodge an official bid for the Games.
Takeda declared his support for Tokyo's bid after meeting with Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara on Thursday. Ishihara, who secured another term in April, was also the driving force behind Tokyo's bid for the 2016 Olympics. The city finished third behind Madrid and Rio de Janeiro, which secured the hosting rights to the 2016 Games.
The International Olympic Committee has set a 1st September deadline for National Olympic Committees to lodge bids for the 2020 Olympics, but so far the Italian capital of Rome is the only city to confirm its candidacy. Hiroshima recently scrapped its proposed bid for the event due to financial reasons to leave Tokyo, which was struck by a devastating earthquake and tsunami earlier this year, as the only option left on the table for the JOC.
"We want to show how sport can be the symbol of Japan's recovery from the disaster in north-east Japan," Takeda said, according to Reuters,adding "I believe it will be possible to have north-east Japan stage Olympic football games in three to five prefectures (local jurisdictions) nine years from now."
Japan's sporting schedule has been disrupted since the 11th March earthquake, but although a number of international events have been switched overseas, Japan will stage the Gymnastics World Championships in October and the FIFA Club World Cup in December.

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