2020 Vision – does Tokyo's Olympic bid stand a chance?

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will soon be gathering to make the final decision on which city will host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games – Istanbul, Madrid or our very own Tokyo. In July, Governor Naoki Inose, a member of the bid committee, argued Tokyo's case to IOC members in Lausanne, Switzerland. As an athlete himself, having completed the Tokyo Marathon, Mr Inose is determined to bring the Games to Japan. We met up with him ahead of the September 7 decision to find out about Tokyo's chances – and what the games would mean to the city.

What's your impression of the presentations so far?
I think the success of the London 2012 Olympic Games will help Tokyo's bid for 2020. When a developed nation is being considered to host the Games, stability and reliability are part of the attraction – and those are some of Tokyo's strengths. We have the capability to host the Olympics, for sure. It has a history of more than 100 years, and the IOC will face – and is facing – difficulties finding new territories. London has hosted the Games three times now, and I think it is perfectly natural for a city that's hosted them in the past to be chosen again; Tokyo was the first city in Asia to be elected in 1964, and more than 50 years have passed since then. Rather than finding new hosts, it makes sense for the IOC to opt for a city that has been reliable for the past 50 years. I know there are people saying that if Tokyo is elected it would only be because the bid is a safe option, but there's a lot of value in choosing the safe option.

As for the case of Beijing and Rio, anticipation often grows until the cities are elected, and then concerns about preparation time and costs take over until the opening. How has Tokyo prepared for the Olympics?
In the presentations I delivered in St Petersburg, I told two stories about money. The first was about Tokyo's honesty when it comes to cash – if you drop your wallet in Japan, it's usually returned with everything inside. The second was about money in the bank – Tokyo has US $4.5 billion that can be withdrawn anytime for the preparation of the Olympics. The money is not a budget, but rather tax revenue that was saved before the Lehman crisis, when the economy was strong, by conducting administrative reforms. We have approval for the fund to be used only for the Olympic Games, and I want to highlight that the cash is already in the bank – we do not have to acquire a new budget. Regarding the Olympic Village, London's area was compact, but ours is even more so, with 85 percent of the venues located within an 8km radius of the village. The peacefulness of the city centre's rich urban greenery coupled with innovative technology and a low crime rate unite as the base for Tokyo's hospitality.

Many publishers and editors from the Time Out global network name Tokyo as the city they'd like to visit because of the hospitality of the people, and also its unique culture that differs from both Western countries and other Asian countries…
I've had a hard time to find the right words to describe the unique fusion of Asian and Western culture that's seen in Tokyo. At an IOC meeting in March, I quoted the work of the former Harvard professor and political scientist Samuel P Huntington. In his book 'The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order' he focused on the competing cultural identities in the world of seven or eight civilisations, and stated that Japan was different from the Confucian culture of China and South Korea. It is easy to feel the uniqueness of Tokyo's culture if you stay in the city for a while, but it is difficult to explain it to people who have never visited. Many of the IOC members have visited Tokyo in the past, and I believe that those who stayed in the city for a while were impressed by the city's culture.

I read an article recently that said foreigners who visited Japan during the Edo Period and Meiji Restoration were often impressed by the beauty of even the practical, everyday items.
In the 19th century, China was renowned for its porcelain, while Japan was famous for its lacquerware. At the Great Exhibition held in London at the end of the Edo Period, Japan mainly sent lacquerware, as well as some Japanese swords, to be displayed. Even the armour was made from lacquered wood, making it lighter and more beautiful than Europe's iron pieces. I don't know if it was because Japan was more peaceful than Europe – lacquered armour lacks the protective function of iron – but Japanese armors certainly had an artistic appearance. I think Japan had reached a new stage of peace at that time.

Despite the efforts of the Japanese government, the Cool Japan project – which aims to promote and celebrate Japanese culture outside Japan – continues to have a low profile. How do you think Japan should promote its culture to the world?
Reports in the media are, of course, very important. And I want to do my part by continuing to make presentations. A UK consultant once told me my speeches were unlike those of most other politicians – through my presentations, people can get to know me as a governor, and know that I come from a creative standpoint. I think that that's important, and I consider myself to be an official of Tokyo rather than a politician. To govern a city like Tokyo, you need to have the inspiration of a writer and the capability to get on with practical businesses, as well as the ability to correctly compare the culture of Tokyo with those of other nations. I try hard in my presentations to get the audience to understand Tokyo and how they'd feel about the city if they visited. I guess I should keep talking to people face to face to share with them the beauty of Japan and Tokyo.

A lot of foreigners are visiting Tokyo nowadays. People can now use their cell phones in subways, and 24-hour bus services are to be introduced soon. As the infrastructure of the city is upgrading, how do you plan to upgrade the services?
I think the two aspects you mentioned will combine. We've suggested 24-hour bus services between Shibuya and Roppongi, and the service is expected to start in December. What's important when considering public transport is that the trains are punctual. During the early Meiji Period, Japan imported steam trains from the UK and acquired its own technology to draw train diagrams. Accordingly, Japanese train diagrams were precise and extremely meticulous, and the basics of Japanese train operations were already firmly in place by 1930. Japan has enhanced its manufacturing technology and is now providing infrastructure on a global basis – the train cars travelling to the Olympic Village in London were manufactured by Hitachi – but technology used to draw train diagrams hasn't really improved since the last century. I believe Japan can make major improvements in this area. If a society sticks to a system that was created more than 80 years ago, it will always be limited. If we eased time constraints on public transport, people would be able to enjoy art, sports, and other after-work activities more freely. More than 20 years have passed since Japan's economic bubble burst, and the country's GDP has hovered around ¥500 trillion since then. Economic measures introduced by Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, so-called 'Abenomics', have helped the Japanese economy to bottom out, but it doesn't matter how much money we print, Japan will not be able to fight deflation until people start spending it. We have to recognise that people should be to able to spend their time the way they want to, without worrying about transport. The introduction of 24-hour services would change the concept of work and time in Tokyo, leading to improved quality of life for its citizens. I hope that if Tokyo wins the bid for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games it will trigger these changes. By getting rid of unnecessary constraints and broadening options for spending, I think well be able to open up a new world.