Hiroshi Yamada and Taro Shirato
Tomin First no Kai, Member of The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly

(The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation)

"Olympic Marathon Protest by Tomin First"

Senior members of Tomin First no Kai (都民ファーストの会) in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly will hold an urgent press conference at the FCCJ to protest the International Olympic Committee's unilateral decision to move the 2020 Olympic marathon and walk events from Tokyo to Sapporo.

Tomin First is the largest party in Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, holding 50 seats out of 127 in the assembly, and is known as the party of Governor Yuriko Koike. Ms Koike has lashed out at the IOC's decision, saying the event might as well be held on the Russian-controlled Kuril islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories.

The IOC has decided to move the endurance events to the cooler climate of Sapporo because of the intense summer heat in Tokyo. However, the timing of the Olympics is decided by the IOC, and having accepted Tokyo's bid, the subsequent decision to withdraw events from the city footing the bill is controversial.

The Tokyo assembly will start deliberating this issue tomorrow and without Tomin First's support, it will not pass the supplementary budget required to move the marathon site to Sapporo, which the party estimates at ¥34 billion. Without budget approval, Ms Koike will have no choice but to decline to pay this cost.

Doors open for TV crews only at 10:00, all others at 10:15. Please reserve in advance, 3211-3161 or on the website (still & TV cameras inclusive). Reservations and cancellations are not complete without confirmation. Livestreaming of press conferences are available on our website (http://www.fccj.or.jp).

*Due to space restrictions, please note there will be a limited number of reservations to attend. FCCJ members, including TV cameras, will have priority for the reservation and seating/setting positions and one TV camera for affiliate networks. 会場の都合上、参加人数には上限がございます。ご予約と当日のお席/TVカメラのセッティングポジションにつきましてもFCCJの会員が優先されること、テレビは系列1社1台となりますので、ご了承ください。
Professional Activities Committee

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