Amid growing tension between the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the International Olympic Committee over a plan to move marathon and race-walking events to Sapporo, a three-day meeting began in Tokyo on Wednesday to review test event results and heat countermeasures being prepared in the lead up to the 2020 Games.
During her opening statement, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, who has said she was blindsided by the IOC's unilateral decision to move marathon and race-walking events away from the capital, urged the IOC to provide an explanation as to why that choice was made without consulting the host city, and reiterated her request that the events be held in Tokyo.
"With the games less than nine months away, preparations are beginning to enter their final stages. Now, we will have to start from scratch," Koike said. "I need not say that athletes should come first, but at this meeting, a proper explanation needs to be made, to Tokyo and its residents, as to why this decision was made."