The Japan Skating Federation reiterated its support Thursday for the city of Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, to host the 2020 speed skating world championships — even if the tournament merges with the world sprint speed skating championships that year.
The federation filed for candidacy to host the world championships last September. The plan for the new tournament by the International Skating Union will be discussed at its general assembly in June.
Hachinohe will have a new indoor speed skating rink scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2019, which will be the third in Japan, after the rinks in the city of Nagano and Obihiro in Hokkaido.