(ATR) Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori meets the new minister in charge of Olympic and Paralympic preparations Yoshitaka Sakurada.
Sakurada assumed the portfolio of Tokyo 2020 preparations as part of a cabinet reshuffle by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He is a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and one of 12 first time ministers.
"I was hoping for the best person, and that's you," Mori said after meeting Sakurada as he began his position. "Let's work together as one. We're in the final straight of preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Games now."
It is unlikely that a change of minister in charge of preparations will have much impact. With less than two years to go until the 2020 Olympics, the construction schedule has been finalized, and preliminary test events planned. Most work being done for preparations is being finalized at a deputy level within the ministry.
Both the United Kingdom and Brazil had multiple changes of ministers in charge of Olympic preparations throughout the seven year project. In Brazil, there were three different leaders of the Sports Ministry in 2016 alone, the year of the Rio Games.
Sakurada said that he is "going to work as hard as I can" on guiding the final sets of preparations, which include construction and logistics projects. He also said he will draw on his relationship with Mori to allow the government and Tokyo 2020 to be in sync.
"Mr. Mori, you were Prime Minister when I first served as Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs," Sakurada said. "I am very pleased that I can work with you because you really helped me out at that time."
According to a report from NHK, Sakurada stressed that he will promote the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games alongside the Olympics. Sakurada also met with the Japanese para-athletes association on his first day of work.
"The Tokyo Games won't be a success without the success of the Paralympics," Sakurada was quoted as saying. "I'm taking on this position with that determination."
Written by Aaron Bauer
For general comments or questions, click here .
25 Years at # 1: Your best source for news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com , for subscribers only.
Últimas Noticias
Brigitte Henriques: “The important thing is that the women who are elected should be chosen for their ability, not because we are looking for modernization in terms of gender”
“When I was a girl I couldn’t find a club to play soccer in because most of them didn’t work with women,” Henriques tells Around the Rings during an in-depth interview in Crete, Greece.
The Hula Report: Winds of Change for ANOC in Crete
New leaders coming for peak Olympic group. Whether other candidates emerge in the months ahead, a contested election for the ANOC presidency will be a first for the organization.
Gilles Gilbert Gresenguet, presidential candidate for AFCNO: “We must take advantage of Paris 2024 to bring the Olympic Games back to French”
The elections take place November 18, and Abakar Djermah Aumi, president of the Chad Olympic Committee, is also aiming to win them.
USOPC announces 613-member 2020 U.S. Olympic Team
Roger Federer pulls out of Tokyo Olympics: "I am greatly disappointed"
(ATR) Federer cites "a setback with my knee" for the decision.
