Japan

New Prime Minister of Japan Yukio Hatoyama announced yesterday that he will fly to Copenhagen to offer support to Tokyo’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), last week received a Declaration of fair play by representatives of the World Kids’ Sports Summit in Yokohama, Japan.

The IOC has praised the high quality of the four bids to host the 2016 Summer Olympics in its Evaluation Commission report, but also highlighted flaws in each bid.

Madrid’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games has the best public support in its home country, whilst Tokyo has the weakest, according a new report by German research consultancy Sport+Markt.

Japanese Formula One venue Suzuka, and European Grand Prix venue Valencia have extended their deals to host Formula One races.

The organisers of Tokyo’s bid to host the Olympics Summer Games in 2016 have 17 Japanese companies on board as official sponsors.

Japanese commercial broadcaster Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) extended its deal for the television rights to International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) events through to 2019.

A high-level Tokyo 2016 delegation attending the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Berlin has commended the legacy model of the city's Olympic Stadium.

Dr Ichiro Kono, chairman and CEO of the Tokyo 2016 Bid Committee, yesterday underlined the huge support offered by the Japanese people and the citizens of Tokyo for the city's bid.

England’s promise of big revenues secured it the Rugby World Cup 2015, while the IRB hope to spread the game by selecting Japan as 2019 host.

South Africa and Italy are lobbying against England’s bid to host the Rugby World Cup in 2015, arguing that the process was weighted in favour of the British.

Tokyo 2016 welcomed the announcement from luxury travel magazine, Wanderlust, that it has chosen Japan as the world’s top destination for international tourists.

The International Olympic Committee received the Candidature Files of all four Candidate Cities for the 2016 Olympic Games.

Tokyo 2016 welcomed a Japanese government pledge of $17 billion for infrastructure development in Asia.

A Tokyo 2016 Olympic Games would generate the greatest prime-time TV audience in Olympic history according to the Bid’s Deputy Director General, Hidetoshi Maki.

Tokyo 2016 today received a significant boost after the proposed 2009 fiscal budget of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) allocated a fresh 100 billion yen, to the existing contingency fund for 2016 Games preparations.

The people of Japan continue to support the Tokyo 2016 Bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games according to the results of a new nationwide poll.

Tokyo 2016 passed a crucial milestone in its campaign to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with all 26 participating international federations accepting Tokyo's sports venue plans.