OSAKA -- In response to the International Olympic Committee's decision to revise the guidelines for selecting the 2006 Winter Games, Osaka Mayor Takafumi Isomura said limiting the number of members allowed to visit candidate cities was not appropriate for the Summer Games.
"The Summer Olympics involves a lot of different factors. If committee members don't see the facilities for themselves, they can't judge fairly," Isomura said.
City and local business officials are especially concerned with the rule changes because of Osaka's low profile abroad and because Beijing, which hosted most of the IOC members in 1993 when it lost the 2000 Games to Sydney by two votes, is also bidding for the 2008 Games.
The IOC agreed at its general assembly meeting Thursday in Lausanne, Switzerland, that a newly appointed committee would select two candidate cities for the 2006 Olympics, and then the entire IOC membership would select the winner.
The mayor also said the decision by IOC President Juan Samaranch not to resign was realistic, given that the 2006 winner has yet to be chosen.