(ATR) In a new salvo over the cost of building the stadium for 2020 Olympics Tokyo Governor Yoichi Masuzoe says the national government is guilty of a "breach of trust".
And the head of Tokyo 2020 is stepping into the fray, expressing his dismay over the way the city and national governments are feuding over the city’s share of paying for the new stadium.
At a press conference Friday, Masuzoe criticized the Japanese Sports Ministry and its Minister Hakubun Shimomura, the second time this week the governor has done so publicly.
Masuzoe says the national government failed to inform him that it would seek financial support from the city for the arena which could cost upwards of $2 billion. The city is reportedly being asked to pay about $400 million.
The 80,000 seat stadium is meant to be ready in 2019 for the Rugby World Cup. To be known as the National Stadium, the arena replaces the one built for the 1964 Olympics, which has been demolished to make room for the new venue. Originally budgeted to cost about $1 billion, that figure has risen substantially since the days of the Tokyo 2020 bid. Designed by architect Zaha Hadid, the new stadium was to come with a retractable roof, but that feature is in question due to costs.
Earlier this month Shimomura formally asked the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to help pay for the stadium, which is now estimated to cost nearly double initial estimates of $1 billion. Shimomura said that when Tokyo secured the 2020 Olympics, there was an agreement between the parliaments of Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the national government to share the costs.
Masuzoe says Shimomura did not disclose how much money the national government would seek from the city when the two men met earlier this month to discuss the funding issue. Masuzoe says the sports minister kept the figure secret until he met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Reports say Shimomura told Abe $470 million would be needed from the city.
"That’s a breach of trust," Masuzoe said on Friday.
Since then he says he has refusedto meet with the Japanese Sports Ministry for an explanation of the interim report about the stadium costs.
"We didn’t request an interim report, so I refused the call of the Japanese Sports Ministry." Masuzoe said.
"It’s strange they won’t provide the answer we need accurately; we are just waiting for the concrete report for the new stadium," he said.
"They should provide a clear answer on the cost issue. If they can’t bring that, they should explain the reason clearly."
Masuzoe said he has been getting an overwhelming sense that public opinion is rising against the cost burdenfor the new stadium.
"It’s understandable," Masuzoe said of the public reaction. "I have got the same opinion as the residents of Tokyo."
He said that when he took over as governor last year, the cost sharing plan had not been explained to him and he criticized the fact that it was an under the table agreement.
"This is a public issue that the Sport Ministry should disclose and explain very carefully to the public," Masuzoe said.
Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori, a former prime minister unafraid of political battles, weighed-in this week. He was quoted in the Sankei Shinbun newspaper saying that Shimomura had raised the cost sharing with Naoki Inose, the former Tokyo governor back in November 2013.
"Masuzoe must have known it," Mori said. "He is saying is that he just didn’t have it explained directly after he got to be governor. I had explained this issue to Masuzoe."
"I want to say with anger that Masuzoe does not possess the qualification to be the Tokyo governor," Mori said on Friday.
"And Shimomura does not take the responsibility as the Japanese sports minister. I am afraid this kind of issue will reach the IOC immediately."
Written and reported by Hironori Hashimoto in Tokyo.
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