LONDON — Japan is still considering a bid to host the 2020 Olympics despite the triple blow caused by the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear radiation crisis, a senior national Olympic committee official said Wednesday.
The Japanese Olympic Committee said it was “very surprised” at the recent comments made by Italian IOC member Mario Pescante, who said he was told by Japan’s ambassador in Rome that Japan had decided not to pursue a bid because of the disasters.
“The JOC is considering the 2020 bid. We (have) not changed our policy,” Yasuhiro Nakamori, the JOC’s international relations director, said in an email to The Associated Press.
Nakamori said the JOC will hold a strategy meeting next Tuesday and make a final decision on whether to bid in July.
“We (still) have a lot of things to do to make a decision, even though we have experience, some knowledge and planning through the 2016 bid activities,” he said.
Tokyo, which staged the 1964 Olympics, bid unsuccessfully for the 2016 Games, which were awarded to Rio de Janeiro.
The head of the JOC, Tsunekazu Takeda, met with IOC President Jacques Rogge in Lausanne, Switzerland, last week to discuss the relief efforts in Japan. None of the venues from the 1964 Olympics were damaged in the quake.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki — the two Japanese cities hit by atomic bombs in World War II — have also expressed interest in a joint Olympic bid.
National Olympic committees have until Sept. 1 to submit the names of 2020 bid cities to the IOC. Rome is the only city so far that has been officially nominated by its national committee. South Africa is expected to submit a bid, with Durban the most likely candidate.