Japan marks three years to Tokyo 2020

TOKYO: Japan Monday marked three years before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with celebrations and fanfare — even as organisers struggle to contain soaring costs and restore credibility.

Japanese celebrities and athletes dressed in bright kimonos gathered for the launch of a remake of a popular 1964 Tokyo Olympics song, as organisers promised to turn the 2020 Games into the biggest “natsu matsuri” (summer festival) ever.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, clad in a white traditional Japanese “happi” coat, attended a flag ceremony at city hall“We have only three years left,” Koike said at the evening event at which cutting-edge projection mapping illustrating Tokyo was shown.

“I hope to lead the Olympics to success with all of you,” she told the audience.The International Olympic Committee, fearful that ballooning budgets could see future Olympic bids dry up, last month praised local organisers for slashing costs.