As Tokyo lost the race to host the 2016 Olympic Games to Rio de Janeiro early Saturday, experts, while praising the bid's promises of secure funding and safety, criticized it as lacking vision and panache.
"Tokyo's bid lacked passion, it didn't capture the voters' hearts," said Munehiko Harada, sports sciences professor at Waseda University.
The International Olympic Committee eliminated Tokyo as the host city in the second round of voting. Tokyo's exit followed the surprise first round elimination of Chicago, the bookmakers' favorite after U.S. President Barack Obama announced he would attend the vote in Copenhagen to lobby for his adopted hometown.