Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Japan-based TANSA investigative agency disclosed that on June 30, an executive of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee said at a meeting with partner companies that “if it wasn’t for Japan, the Games would have been canceled a long time ago.”

In the meeting, held behind closed doors for an hour and 15 minutes using the Teams online conferencing system, the Organizing Committee called on 81 partner companies attending to work together to hold the event. However, the partner companies had little to say, and only three of them asked questions, according to TANSA.

An executive of the Organizing Committee stated: “It would be a waste to quit (the Olympics) now.”

At the end of the meeting, two senior members of the organizing committee called for solidarity from the partner companies.

Masahiko Sakamaki, a former marketing director from Dentsu, was quoted as saying: “I think the biggest weapon we had in beating Istanbul and Madrid [for the Games] was our ability to execute. We promised the world that we would do a good job, and I think we have worked hard for a year and a half in this difficult situation.”

“If it weren’t for Japan, it would have been canceled a long time ago, and I don’t think anyone in the world thought it could do it. In the midst of this, we have reached the point of realizing this event with you. I believe the Games will enhance the value of Tokyo and Japan in a new post-corona society.”