The Tokyo Metropolitan Government may establish a pool of several trillion yen to be used in case the city is picked to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, metro officials said Thursday.
The fund would be used to build a main stadium and an Olympic village and for operating expenses, the officials said. It would also be used to improve existing sports facilities and stadiums and to build a network of trunk roads.
City Hall is planning to propose legislation at the beginning of next year with an eye to start setting aside money as early as fiscal 2006, they said. Contributions also may be sought from the national treasury.
The large fund is intended to show the Japanese Olympic Committee that Tokyo is serious about hosting the games, they said.
The city that will represent Japan's global bid for the games will be picked by the JOC Executive Committee and other relevant parties in August. Fukuoka also intends to bid, and Sapporo has expressed interest as well.
Tokyo hosted the 1964 Olympic Games, the only Summer Games to be held in Japan, at a combined cost of 1 trillion yen. The money was spent to build stadiums, expressways and other facilities.
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