Tokyo loses Olympic bid, dogged by tepid public support, proximity to Beijing games last year

Tokyo loses Olympic bid, dogged by lukewarm public

TOKYO — Its bid tainted by the perceived tepid support of its citizens, Tokyo failed to bring the Olympics back to Japan’s capital when the International Olympic Committee rejected it in the second round of voting to choose the 2016 Games.

With memories fresh of Beijing’s turn in the global spotlight during last year’s Olympics, voters may also have been reluctant to grant another Asian capital the honor so soon.

Chicago and Tokyo were eliminated in the first two rounds of the IOC’s vote Friday in Copenhagen.

The final vote, later Friday, came down to Madrid and Rio de Janeiro.

“It’s a disappointing outcome. I’m very sorry about it,” Hiroshi Sato, vice governor of Tokyo, where the results came after midnight Saturday. “So many people offered their support. I’m at a loss for words. The frustration is that we can’t give our stage of dreams to our youth. We tried hard and did everything we could.”

The landmark Tokyo Tower, a spire resembling the Eiffel Tower, was lit up in Olympic colors in hopes of celebrating the win. Some people who gathered at the base of the tower said they hoped Tokyo would bid again.

“It’s disappointing, but we’re aiming for 2020,” said Kenta Takaya, a 33-year-old event planner.

Tokyo spent $166 million promoting itself for the games, which can potentially bring in billions of dollars in tourism revenues, construction projects and sponsorships.

Japanese organizers were eager to bring the Olympics back to Tokyo, whose 1964 games marked Japan’s emergence on the international stage after its defeat in World War II. The country also hosted two winter games — in Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998.

Newly elected Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama flew to Copenhagen to give a speech during Tokyo’s 45-minute final presentation. Picking up on the bid’s long-standing themes of safety and green credentials, he said Tokyo would “show the world how a major metropolis shall flourish without detriment to the environment.”

Japanese organizers stressed the financial stability of their bid. With a projected cost of $2.8 billion, bid officials said Tokyo was in a better position than other cities to meet the expenses of hosting a post-recession Olympics. The city said it had already set aside $4 billion to cover the cost of infrastructure development.

However, during an IOC visit to the Japanese capital in April, protesters greeted the inspection team with signs that said: “We don’t need the Olympics.”

In recent weeks, enthusiasm seemed to grow, with 400,000 people marching through the streets of Tokyo last month to show their support.

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Associated Press Writers James Armstrong and Tomoko A. Hosaka contributed to this report.