Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, irked by the International Olympic Committee's plan to move the 2020 marathon and race walking events to Sapporo, quipped Thursday that they should be held somewhere on the Russia-held, Japan-claimed islands off Hokkaido if cooler weather conditions are needed.
The governor's sarcastic remark came a day after the IOC unexpectedly proposed changing the venue for the races amid growing concerns about heat reaching dangerous levels in Tokyo during the games. The plan also emerged weeks after many runners dropped out of the marathon and race walking events at the track and field world championships in Doha due to sweltering conditions, despite the races starting at midnight.
"If a cool place is necessary, I want to hear calls from Rengo, such as why not hold them in the Northern Territories?" Koike said while talking with members of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo), the nation's largest labor organization, an official said.