Japan to bid for 2020 Olympics

Tokyo, Apr 11 (ANI): Japan plans to a bid for the 2020 Olympic Games, said Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara.

"Although the 2020 Games are nine years from now, we can start raising our hand now, If we work hard with hope for nine years ahead, it will be a big catalyst for our country's reconstruction and revival," The Telegraph quoted Ishihara, as saying.

In 2009, Tokyo lost out to Rio de Janeiro in the race for the 2016 Olympics after spending some 15 billion Yen in its bid to stage what it called a compact and eco-friendly games.

Candidates for 2020 must submit their bids to the IOC by September 1, 2011. The host city will be announced in Buenos Aires on September 2013.

Berlin, Busan, Cape Town, Doha, Rome and Istanbul are among the cities that have signalled their interest in for the 2020 event. (ANI)