The Tokyo Olympics organizing committee said in late November that the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games could cost as much as ¥2 trillion — or ¥1 trillion less than the ¥3 trillion price tag that had earlier been feared. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike should be lauded for making the need to reduce expenses an issue in the course of her efforts to review the planned venues for several Olympic events. But the total estimated cost is still as much as 2.72 times the initial forecast in Tokyo's 2013 bid to host the games. The organizing committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the national government should make further efforts to economize on the preparation and management of the Olympics.
The latest cost estimate was revealed during a four-party meeting of the International Olympic Committee, the organizing committee, the national government and the metropolitan government, in which the parties reviewed the sites for the rowing and canoe sprint events, the swimming competition and volleyball games. Among the participants were IOC Vice President John Coates; former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, head of the organizing committee; Tamayo Marukawa, minister in charge of the Tokyo Olympics; and Koike.
It was agreed that three of the four categories of events — rowing and canoe sprint events and swimming — will be held in new facilities to be built in Tokyo in accordance with the original plan. As to the site for the volleyball matches, Koike asked for more time before making a final decision. Subsequent reports suggest that she is giving up on her idea of using the existing Yokohama Arena to reduce expenses instead of building a planned new volleyball facility in Tokyo's Koto Ward, as both domestic and international organizations of the sport were opposed to using the old facility.