Tokyo Olympic bid organizers urge new prime minister to join them in Copenhagen for IOC vote

Tokyo bid team wants new PM to go to Copenhagen

TOKYO — Tokyo’s Olympic bid organizers have urged new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to join them in Copenhagen for the International Olympic Committee’s upcoming vote on which city hosts the 2016 Games.

The Tokyo team also said Thursday that 13 Japanese sporting greats, many of them former Olympic medalists, will join them for the trip to Denmark’s capital, where the vote will be held on Oct. 2.

“We have been making efforts on the assumption that Prime Minister Hatoyama will join us. We would request that he comes,” said Ichiro Kono, chair of the Tokyo bid team. “We realize he is busy right after taking office, but we need him on our team.”

Hatoyama took office Wednesday, and his staff said nothing had been decided about travel to Copenhagen.

Chicago, Rio de Janeiro and Madrid are the other cities in the running for 2016.

In recent years, national leaders have traveled to the IOC meetings to promote their bids. But President Barack Obama will not be attending the Oct. 2 meeting, instead sending first lady Michelle Obama to lead the U.S. delegation.

Seeking to drum up support for their bid, the Tokyo organizers are bringing with them 13 Japanese athletes who have won 31 Olympic and Paralympic medals — including 11 golds between them — over the years.

Among them is Mikako Kotani, a bronze medalist in synchronized swimming at the 1988 Seoul games who is also a member of the Tokyo bid executive board.

“We’re like team Japan,” she said. “We’ll go proudly and make our appeal for Tokyo to the IOC.”

Others making the trip include Naoko Takahashi, winner of the women’s marathon in 2000, Koji Murofushi, gold medallist in the hammer throw in Athens in 2004, and Shinji Morisue, a gold medalist in gymnastics in 1984.