2020: Baseball and local food in Fukushima?

March 4, 2015

Fukushima makes 2020 Olympics pitch for baseball, and local food

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/03/04/national/olympics-fukushima-makes-pitch-2020-baseball-local-food/#.VPbjVC51Cos

AFP-JIJI

Fukushima Prefecture, which was hit by one of the world’s worst-ever nuclear disasters in 2011, wants to host baseball and softball games at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics — and hopes to convince athletes to eat the local food.

The sports were dropped from the Olympic program after 2008 but are tipped to be voted back in by the International Olympic Committee next year, given their popularity in Japan.

“If baseball and softball return to the Olympics, and preliminary games are played outside Tokyo, then we hope to be able to stage games,” said Hiroaki Kuwajima, an official with the Fukushima Municipal Government.

“We are still in the process of recovery from the disaster and it would be a dream to have world-class athletes play here.”

Fukushima has suffered a lot of financial damage caused by misinformation,” he said. “We would like to be able to sweep away those harmful rumors. Fukushima has venues capable of hosting these games.”

Fukushima Prefecture is also keen on holding Olympic training camps and wants overseas athletes and fans to eat locally produced food, despite concerns over radiation levels. The city of Fukushima is just 60 km away from the crippled nuclear reactors.

“Fukushima’s produce is safe and will be safe,” insisted Kuwajima. “Of course we would like athletes and visitors from overseas to eat our food.”

Fukushima’s sprawling J-Village sports facility, where the Japan soccer team used to train, is also set to be restored in time for the 2020 Olympics after being converted into a base camp for thousands of workers deployed for the massive cleanup operation following the nuclear crisis.

“JFA (Japan Football Association) President (Kuniya) Daini wants the J-Village training camp to be fixed up and as a prefecture we are anxious to restore it,” said Kuwajima. “Some people might be a little concerned about Fukushima, but once athletes and fans come, they will see that it is safe.”

Fukushima has already expressed a desire to be part of the 2020 Olympics, along with Iwate and Miyagi, the two other Tohoku region prefectures that were the worst hit by the 2011 triple disaster.