The 2020 Olympics and Paralympics are coming to Tokyo, so Japan can expect greater global pressure to rectify the Fukushima nuclear debacle.

Experts on Monday credited Tokyo's success over Istanbul and Madrid to the safety of the capital and its passion to hold the games. They also hope to see the Tohoku region rebuilt from the March 2011 devastation amid a rekindled spirit of revival in the run-up to 2020.

Indeed, impassioned pleas from survivors of the natural disasters and their hopes for what the games will bring may have helped tip the International Olympic Committee's decision.