Roundup: Abe names veteran LDP lawmaker as Olympics minister amid financial spat over stadium costs

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe named veteran Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Toshiaki Endo as minister in charge of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, with his induction into Abe's Cabinet to be formally conducted later Thursday at the Imperial Palace.

Endo, 65, a lawmaker of 22 years experience, is a former senior vice minister for education, culture, sports, science and technology, and will take over the role of Olympic minister from Hakubun Shimomura, minister of education, culture, sports, science and technology.

The soon-to-be new minister will be charged with setting policies for the Games, overseeing security, including counterterrorism initiatives, management of sports and media- related facilities, as well as transportation infrastructure.

Endo however, will also have to deal with the Games' skyrocketing construction costs, delays to construction and dissent from the local community, which has voiced its collective concerns about designs for some of the facilities, like the new National Stadium, not being sustainable, ecological, or blending in with the city's landscape. Local citizens are also concerned that the cost of the Games will lead to increased taxes or the debt being passed on to younger generations.

Following a meeting with Abe earlier in the day, Endo was upbeat about his new role, however, vowing to uphold Japan's prestige as required by the prime minister, and ensuring the Games ' overall safety.

"I would like to do my best to ensure security and management of facilities," Endo told a news conference.

"Above all, people in the country will not be happy unless Japan wins a lot of medals," Endo, a rugby enthusiast and player, told the press, adding that he would keep in close contact with all the appropriate cabinet ministers, as well as the Tokyo government, and work hard.

One of his first calls of duty will be to settle on the new National Stadium's final design, which has, up until now, been a major point of contention between the metropolitan and central government, as well as sourcing enough funding for its construction.

The original projected cost of the stadium to be built based on a design by Zaha Hadid, a renown Iraqi-British architect, who also designed the aquatics center for the 2012 London Olympics, was around 130 billion yen (1.1 billion U.S. dollars) for an 80,000 seater stadium that some believe looks like a spaceship and others a futuristic bicycle helmet.

But following Tokyo successfully winning the Olympic bid, the construction costs ballooned to more than 300 billion yen, causing International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach to call for the costs to be reined in.

A scaled-down version of the design was pitched to be smaller and more cost-effective and was priced at 250 billion yen, but those contracted to build the stadium have said that the actual cost will be significantly more as the cost of materials has risen and will continue to do so as long as the yen is comparatively weak.

Architects and builders have both stated that to complete the construction within budget, the stadium's iconic arches may have to be cut as well as its retractable roof. Some of the seats may also have to be temporary, authorities close to the matter have also said.

They have also floated the idea of dropping Hadid's iconic design altogether, in favor of using cheaper, local designs, but officials have raised concerns that such a plan could ruin Japan's reputation and lead to a number of lawsuits, further tainting the Games before it has even started.

Previously, Shimomura had called on the Tokyo Metropolitan government to pay around 50 billion yen of the stadium's construction costs, which has sparked fury from local city officials, including Tokyo Governor Yoichi Masuzoe, who recently slammed the central government's dictatorial demands and likened their behavior to the roguish Imperial Army of yesteryear.

Masuzoe has also criticized the central government's money- grabbing attempts as being unconstitutional.

"It's written in the constitution that you cannot establish a new law without gaining a majority of votes in a local referendum, " Masuzoe said on a TV program recently, adding that the citizens of Tokyo would be annoyed to hear the government complain that they couldn't build the stadium, stating that it was tantamount to the Imperial Army's claims to be winning the war, when in fact they were being beaten.

It will be Endo's responsibility to mediate ongoing discussions between the metropolitan and central government and resolve this prickly financial issue as well as the local citizens' concerns, with this point being reiterated by Abe in Thursday's meeting.

In other Olympic-related appointments Thursday, Hideki Niwa, the current senior vice minister for education, culture, sports, science and technology, will also serve as Endo's deputy, and Tomohiro Yamamoto, parliamentary vice minister of education, culture, sports, science and technology, will double up as parliamentary vice minister of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

Abe's Cabinet, owing to new legislation coming into effect Thursday, will now comprise 19 ministers, up from 18, through fiscal 2020. Endi