Shinzo Abe Opens ANOC Assembly in Tokyo

(ATR) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says reconstruction efforts made for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will "welcome all the people" of the world to say thank you for help in wake of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

Abe welcomed the world’s 206 NOCs to Tokyo as part of the Association of National Olympic Committees annual General Assembly. For the first time all 2016 recognized NOCs are taking part in the assembly, which is bringing nearly 1,500 officials to Tokyo for a week of meetings.

"In 2011 we suffered greatly from the major disaster we were devastated but from the people of the world we were assisted and step by step we made strides towards rehabilitation," Abe said.

"So at the [2020] opening ceremony and the Games we would like to welcome all the people with highest level of ‘omotenashi’ hospitality unique to Japan."

Earlier this week Abe travelled to Fukushima Prefecture with IOC President Thomas Bach to visit rebuilt sports facilities in the regions devastated by the earthquake and tsunami. Fukushima will host six baseball and softball matches during the 2020 Olympics, and will be the start of the Olympic Torch Relay.

Abe is the first head of state to address the ANOC General Assembly in recent years. The Japanese Prime Minister has played key roles in bidding for the 2020 Olympics. He even made a surprise appearance at the Rio 2016 closing ceremony appearing as the famous video game character "Super Mario" during the Tokyo handover showcase.

"Come 2020, Japan’s high level of technology and attractiveness of Japanese culture, these are the values we are proud to showcase to the world," Abe said.

"Bidding for the Olympic and Paralympic Games was a trigger to showcase the power of sports and Olympic movement and values associated with sports to the world."

Following Abe’s speech, IOC President Thomas Bach reiterated his belief in Tokyo’s advanced preparations for the 2020 Olympics.

"I do not remember…any host city which was so far in its preparations two years before the Olympic Games than Tokyo," Bach said.

"You can feel this, you can hear this, you can see this; how the Japanese people have embraced this Olympic Games and how much they are looking forward to this."

Bach made no mention of the current budget situation in Tokyo which has dominated headlines. A recent audit from the Japanese government warned of rising costs associated with the Olympics and said so far $7 billion had been spent on the Games.

Tokyo 2020 and the IOC quickly dismissed the audit, saying the national government took liberties in including a wide range of projects as Olympic costs, and promised budget clarity. At the 2018 IOC Session Tokyo 2020 said it had cut $4.3 billion through cost reduction measures with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Tokyo 2020 will release version three of its budget at the end of this year.

Presentations at the 2018 ANOC General Assembly will largely focus on NOC relations within the Olympic movement at large.

A relatively nondescript meeting was expected in Tokyo, but was upended last week by charges filed in Switzerland against President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah. The Sheikh stepped aside from his IOC roles in wake of the new forgery charges, and eventually agreed to step down as President of ANOC under pressure.

Sheikh Ahmad was expected to be re-elected President for four more years in Tokyo by acclamation.

Instead, the ANOC Executive Committee needed to discuss contingency plans for how a new election would run.

"The ANOC Executive Council approved the process for tomorrow’s elections in accordance with the ANOC Constitution," a statement from ANOC read. "The process will not be communicated ahead of being submitted to the ANOC General Assembly for approval."

Written by Aaron Bauer in Tokyo

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