Tamayo Marukawa, Japan's newly-appointed Olympic minister, told the media on Friday one of the biggest concerns she has about hosting the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo is the heavy traffic in the capital, which could cause transportation issues for athletes and fans.
Marukawa, who attended the Opening Ceremony for the on-going Rio de Janeiro Games last week, said Tokyo and the Japanese government would need to address the potential problems the issue could pose for the Olympics in the country's capital, where roads are perpetually crowded.
"One of the things I think could be a big issue for Tokyo (Olympics and Paralympics) is the traffic jams," said Marukawa, a former TV Asahi announcer, in a group interview with reporters at her office. "Also, they (Rio de Janeiro) had Olympic lanes, but there were still places that they had (heavy) traffic, despite their wider roads.