Officials of the Japanese Embassy in Moscow said Friday that their tennis court can go but their swimming pool must stay.
Stung by criticism that its blueprint for a new embassy compound is extravagant, the embassy said it is ready to drop the idea of building a tennis court but argued that a pool is essential to cope with a water shortage in emergencies.
The embassy undertook a review of the project after the original blueprint raised eyebrows in Japan.
In a report on the review released Friday, the embassy said the swimming pool would provide water for emergency firefighting.