Aichi Prefecture will bid to host the 2026 Asian Games, with Nagoya expected to be the main venue, Gov. Hideaki Omura said Monday.
If Aichi lands the 20th edition of the event known as Asiad, it will be the third time Japan will play host. Tokyo staged the games in 1958 and Hiroshima in 1994.
The Aichi Prefectural Government plans to choose and arrange sports fields and other facilities in fiscal 2016 and submit an application to the Japanese Olympic Committee to host the event.
"As it is a big event, we should first clarify the situation," Omura said at a news conference in Nagoya.
He said wants to use the Asian Games as an opportunity to show the world Japan's magnetically levitated train technology.
Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) plans to start Japan's first maglev service between Tokyo and Nagoya in 2027. Omura said he may request that the games be delayed by one year to take advantage of the maglev service launch.
The Olympic Council of Asia will decide on the successful bidder around 2018.