International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach vowed Thursday to produce "a very significant reduction in costs" for the 2020 Tokyo Games, which he predicts will bring "a transformational moment for all of Japan."
Bach and Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike agreed Tuesday to form a four-party working group — comprising the IOC, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee and the Japanese government — to tackle the 2020 Games' soaring price tag, which a review panel set up by Koike last month estimated could top ¥3 trillion.
Bach earlier this week disputed that figure, but promised an audience at the four-day World Forum on Sport and Culture in Tokyo on Thursday that the group will leave no stone unturned in its efforts to save money.