Tokyo 2020 Olympic Organizing Committee President Yoshiro Mori laid blame on the Games' new main stadium operator, the Japan Sports Council, and sports minister Hiroshi Hase on Friday for the fiasco over the placement of the Olympic cauldron.
The construction plan by architect Kengo Kuma was adopted in December but nothing was mentioned about the cauldron, which was also the case in the government's developmental plan in August after the initial plan by Zaha Hadid was abandoned following public outcry on its ballooning cost.
"Pursuing the exact cause, the sports minister who supervises the JSC has to be held responsible," Mori said.
"We've had nothing reported on the issue. It would make no sense not to think about the Olympic cauldron if the stadium was getting built for the Olympics."
He also touched on the potential use of the cauldron from the 1964 Tokyo Games that has been lent out to the city of Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture, which was struck by a huge earthquake and massive tsunami five years ago.
"I've already got consent from IOC President (Thomas Bach)," Mori said.