TOKYO — Tokyo Olympics organizers sought to reassure Japan's public that the cost for hosting the Games will not exceed budgeted estimates, amid worries over possible overruns caused partly by late venue switches for the marathon and walking events. "We will keep telling the public that costs will stay at 1.35 trillion yen ($12 billion) and won't rise from here," Toshiro Mutoh, CEO of Tokyo 2020, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. But that the budgeted figure did not include an estimated 3 billion yen needed to move the marathon and walking races to the northern city of Sapporo. Mutoh did not comment on who would be footing the bill for moving the venue, saying only that it would be the next big issue that needed to be sorted out by stake-holders including the Tokyo and Sapporo municipal governments.

Source: International New York Times December 27, 2019 04:07 UTC