The best way to spend money in Tohoku?

 February 13, 2015

Tokyo Gov. Masuzoe wants to use disaster recovery funds for Olympic events in Tohoku

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150213p2a00m0na016000c.html

Tokyo Gov. Yoichi Masuzoe says he will ask the central government to use part of the Tohoku tsunami disaster reconstruction budget to cover the costs of staging some events for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in areas that were severely affected by the 2011 disaster.

In an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun on Feb. 12, about a year after he was elected governor, Masuzoe emphasized that allocating the reconstruction budget to hold events in the Tohoku region would be the best way to spend the money.

Regarding policies laid out by the International Olympic Committee at the end of last year, which said the committee would approve of holding Olympic events in different cities to reduce the financial burden placed on the host city, Masuzoe was enthusiastic about staging events in Tohoku. He said that the cost of holding such competitions could be covered by the disaster reconstruction budget if the public agreed.

However, reconstruction minister Wataru Takeshita expressed opposition to Masuzoe's plan last year, saying, "The reconstruction budget should be directly used for projects related to disaster recovery, and I believe the cost of hosting the Olympics can be covered from elsewhere," adding that the organizing committee for the Games is responsible for holding events in disaster-affected areas.

The use of the disaster reconstruction budget has come into question after it was discovered that only 0.7 percent of timber supplies planned to be provided to Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate prefectures for Forestry Agency projects had been provided to the prefectural governments. Consequently, the Board of Audit requested the government to improve the use of the budget last year.

In response to Takeshita's comment, Masuzoe said, "Remarks like that should be made after the government reflects on the issue and sees that the budget has not been spent (for Tohoku). No project is more suited for the reconstruction budget than to show the world how much Japan has recovered from the disaster."

There is a rough road ahead for Masuzoe's plan, however, as some Tohoku residents say that spending the reconstruction budget on the Olympics will not win support from the local community.

Masuzoe also told the Mainichi that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is moving toward making a hydrogen fuel cell energy-based society and plans to start experimental projects in Chuo Ward's Harumi district, which will host the Olympic Village during the 2020 Games. "We can start city planning from scratch at the planned athletes' village, and the site is suited for experimental projects," Masuzoe commented.

February 13, 2015(Mainichi Japan)