SAPPORO (Kyodo) Sapporo Mayor Fumio Ueda announced Tuesday that the city will not seek to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, mainly because of the expected heavy financial burden, rejecting calls from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito.

With Sapporo's withdrawal, either Tokyo or the city of Fukuoka will probably be picked in November as the Japanese candidate venue for the 2016 Olympics. Nagoya has already announced its withdrawal from the domestic race to be an Olympic candidate.

"We're not in a situation where most citizens are willing to host an Olympics," Ueda told a plenary session of the city assembly.