2020 Olympic Games crucial for future of Japan
Organisers say they will be just as significant as the 1964 event, which marked the country's emergence as a global economic power
Six years to the day before the start of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, its top brass predict the Games will have as significant an impact as those of 1964, which marked Japan's emergence as an economic power.
Having hosted the Games 50 years ago, Tokyo's second Olympics will begin on July 24, 2020 with organisers hoping to recreate the same alchemy after two decades of stagnant growth and three years after a deadly tsunami and nuclear crisis.
"The 1964 Games left countless invaluable legacies - still cherished half a century later," Tokyo 2020 chief executive officer Toshiro Muto said.
The 1964 Games left countless invaluable legacies - still cherished half a century later
"Achieving the same level of environmental, social and economic legacy is our ultimate aim for 2020," he added.
When Tokyo staged Asia's first Olympics five decades ago, the Japanese government's unveiling of the iconic Bullet Train symbolised the country's rise from humiliating defeat in the second world war to its emergence as a major international player.
The 2020 Olympics is expected to boost the Japanese economy by an estimated three trillion yen (HK$228 billion) as building and tourism-related stimulus power growth, with about half the bonanza enjoyed by Tokyo.
The 1964 Games were also a catalyst for other huge infrastructure projects such as Tokyo's motorway system, while many of the venues still look as modern today and, more importantly, remain in regular use.
