Japan PM Abe apologises for stadium fiasco

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday apologised for squandering billions of yen in public funds on plans for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic stadium.

Japan faces a bill for around 6.2 billion yen ($49.8 million) after Abe ordered the original plans to be torn up amid mounting public anger over costs.

"As a result of the decision to go back to the drawing board, precious public funds have been spent," Abe told parliament. "I apologise deeply to the people of Japan."

Japan pulled the plug on Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid's design after the price tag ballooned to more than $2.0 billion, putting it on course to become the most expensive sports stadium in the world.

Abe rejected opposition calls for him to sack Sports Minister Hakubun Shimomura over the scandal, however, saying: "We will fulfil our responsibilities by making sure the Olympics are a success."

Olympics Minister Toshiaki Endo heads a panel tasked with reviewing the stadium plan following a damaging scandal in which the bill for the showpiece venue nearly doubled, largely due to rising labour and material costs.

Hadid's office denied the high cost of the stadium was due to the design.

To put the inflated price tag in context, London spent around $680 million on 2012 Olympic stadium, while Beijing's 2008 "Bird's Nest" venue cost some $500 million.

The decision to ditch Hadid's plans meant organisers of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, also to be staged in Japan, must now find a new venue for the final -- likely to be the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, which hosted the final of the 2002 football World Cup.

Construction on the Olympic stadium had been set to begin in October and was going to be completed by May 2019, just in time for the Rugby World Cup.

As the row over financing the project escalated, senior officials sought to distance themselves from blame, Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori pointing the finger at the sports ministry, many calling for Shimomura's resignation.
Source: AFP