4. The Olympic and Paralympic Games will change Tokyo

I would now like to speak about our major policies.

Leading the Games to success with the people of Tokyo and Japan

To raise the level of excitement among the people of Tokyo and Japan for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, now just three years away, and make the Games an event that will leave everyone feel proud to have hosted, as the host city, Tokyo will take the initiative in accelerating preparations.

Concrete preparations have started for the three venues we decided to newly construct following cost reductions and consideration of effective post-Games use and lifecycle costs at the end of last year. To make these facilities a legacy long appreciated by the people of Tokyo, we will, for example, incorporate innovative ideas from the private sector to create a new center for sports and culture in the area around Ariake Arena, which will serve as the venue for Volleyball and Wheelchair Basketball.

To ensure flawless preparations, we will work in close cooperation with the organising committee, central government, and relevant local governments to firmly address matters such as the division of costs, transport, and public safety measures. Through the activities of a liaison council with relevant local governments, which was established near the end of last year upon my proposal, it is becoming clear that we have a huge job ahead of us concerning not only temporary facilities, but matters such as transport and security as well. The TMG will take its responsibility as the host city seriously, and continue to hold sincere negotiations. With regard to the temporary facilities that the organizing committee is to bear the expenses for, including facilities owned by other local governments, I have instructed my staff to conduct studies that do not exclude the possibility of Tokyo bearing part of the expenses.

We also hope to raise a sense of unity with the people of Tokyo and Japan. We will manufacture the medals for the Games using metals harvested from untapped “urban mines” -- the unused mobile phones and other electronic devices found in homes across the country. We will promote official goods. We will also spread the word about how fulfilling and fun it is to be a volunteer supporting the Games. We will encourage people to register for TEAM BEYOND and participate in events such as CHALLENGE SPORTS TOKYO and together build excitement for para-sports. These are some of the various initiatives we are advancing to bring the Games closer to home to as many people as possible. We will also take the Olympic and Paralympic flags on a tour across the country. Having already visited Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate, we will bring the tour to other parts of Japan, including Kumamoto, and firmly raise momentum nationwide. With the people of Tokyo and Japan, we will realize an Olympic and Paralympic Games that incite excitement and passion around the world, and create accomplishments and memories that will last forever in the hearts of people.

Leveraging the Paralympics to make Tokyo a city where everyone can sense “kindness”

The Tokyo Games, which will be hosted by a “mature city,” differs from the previous Games in 1964, which impressed the world with the post-war restoration of Tokyo through large-scale urban development. We must seize the opportunity of the Games to achieve a society where everyone can sense kindness by taking a close look at the lives of each and every person.

Symbolic of such endeavors would be eliminating physical barriers on the ground. With regard to making roads barrier-free, priority will be given to metropolitan roads around the competition venues and tourism facilities, and we will also spread this by newly providing support to municipalities for their roads. It is also necessary to remove other “barriers” in Tokyo by taking a very close look at all corners of the city. New “full flat floor” buses will be added to the Toei bus fleet, elevators and platform doors will be installed in railway stations, western toilets will be increased, and other measures will be taken to proceed with a wide range of initiatives that also focus on the Paralympic Games.

Ensuring safety and security for a successful Games

The success of the Games will not be possible without Tokyo’s safety and security. We will implement solid measures from both tangible nd intangible aspects.

Disaster countermeasures that will make everyone feel safe

At the foundation of creating a “new Tokyo” is the establishment of a “safe city.” The large-scale fire that broke out in Itoigawa City in Niigata Prefecture at the end of last year is not something that Tokyo, which has districts with close-set wooden houses, can ignore. In order to build a disaster-resilient city, we will advance urban development to become a city that does not burn or collapse by, among others, fireproofing built-up areas, forming fire-break belts, and making buildings along disaster response routes earthquake resistant. In addition we will also steadily engage in measures to prepare for the increasingly frequent occurrences of torrential rain.

The closure of roads due to the collapse of utility poles will be a huge hindrance in expeditiously conducting evacuation and rescue activities in the event of an earthquake. We will establish a new fund to meet future financial demands for advancing the removal of utility poles. We will work for the early formulation of an ordinance bill that prohibits the new establishment of utility poles along metropolitan roads and promotes technological developments that will lead to cost reduction, and also increase our support to municipalities to speed up their removal.

As administrative measures, we will send consultants and prepare support guidelines to back up the disaster preparedness activities conducted locally, such as by town and neighborhood associations. We will also enhance local disaster response capabilities by upgrading the equipment available to the volunteer fire corps and encouraging residents to join this group. It would also be necessary to make more use of the power of women. By raising women leaders for disaster response and preparing a disaster preparedness manual that incorporates how women think, we will work to reflect the perspective of women in local activities. Furthermore, in cooperation with the national government and relevant organizations we are also advancing studies on the domestic production of liquid infant formula. In such ways, we will achieve detailed measures for disasters that make everyone feel safe.

Solid preparations for terrorism

We will also be fully prepared in our counterterrorism measures. We will steadily shore up security at Haneda Airport, the gateway to Tokyo, and build a foundation for public-private cooperation. With regard to threats in cyberspace, which are expected to increase with progress in technologies such as IoT and AI, in addition to further strengthening investigation systems, we will engage in enhancing awareness of this risk among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and will also provide support for costs to introduce security measures. In addition, we will increase support for the installation of security cameras in the community. In this way, we will definitely ensure safety and security in the lives of our residents.

Heightening the city’s attractiveness and style in the run up to 2020

Taking the opportunity presented by the Tokyo Games, when the eyes of the world will focus on our city, we hope to enhance Tokyo’s attractiveness and style, and build an even more sophisticated city.

Urban development for districts full of attractions

In areas such as the Otemachi-Marunouchi-Yurakucho district, Roppongi-Toranomon district, and Shibuya station vicinity, work is underway to build diverse and attractive centers for international business, cutting-edge life and culture, and others. We will also engage in urban development initiatives in Shinjuku and Shinagawa to create centers for international exchange that will draw people from around the world.

In addition to building such centers in the heart of the city, it is also necessary to comprehensively view all of Tokyo and the Greater Tokyo Area as well, and clarify what functions the centers of each respective area should have. From a broad and mid to long-term perspective, we are advancing studies on the “grand design for urban development.” This will set forth the vision for Tokyo that we should strive to achieve and the concrete measures to take to realize that vision. While also steadily promoting the construction of the three ring expressways, which will promote exchange among the centers, we will create a very attractive city that grows sustainably and where people and goods actively come and go.

A unique cultural city

With the occasion presented by the Rio de Janeiro Games last year for Japan to showcase its culture, the world’s interest in Tokyo and Japan’s traditional culture and cutting-edge modern art is increasing. In preparation for the Tokyo Games, the full-scale implementation of the Tokyo 2020 Cultural Olympiad will be launched at last. In the next fiscal year, we will also initiate support for large-scale cultural activities where Tokyo’s citizens take center stage, and launch a project to call for events that will be exciting for both the artists and spectators. We will work with the residents of Tokyo to liven up these events, which will culminate in the Tokyo 2020 Festival.

In order to allow our residents to become get even more closer to culture, we will promote the development of a foundation to firmly establish art that will touch people’s hearts, such as a center for art brut (outsider art). In this way, we will make Tokyo a cultural city unique in the world.

Measures to prevent passive smoking

We must firmly engage in measures to prevent passive smoking for the health of our citizens and to fulfill our responsibility as the host city for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Although there has been a lot of debate about how to implement this, we will accelerate preparations, such as conducting surveys on how Tokyo citizens feel about this, and the actual situation at restaurants and other eateries and lodging facilities, to introduce measures while also looking closely at the national government’s movements for legislation.

For the zero culling of strays

With regard to animal protection, in order to bring to zero the culling of stray pets by fiscal 2019, we will engage in measures such as enriching opportunities for children to learn about the value of life and opening a website to send out information on animals for adoption. The old Animal Care and Consultation Center will be relocated and rebuilt, and an environment that will make it easier for Tokyo citizens to visit the facility as well as a space to hold adoption events will be prepared to make this a center that will serve as a bridge between animals and their new owners.