Tokyo 2020 Bid Trio Take Control

search helvetica, abortion sans-serif;”>The Tokyo 2020 summer games bid has started to formulate after Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, medicine Tsunekazu Takeda and Masato Mizuno took control of the bid.

The Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) announced that the bid committee will be launched in October. Takeda serves asthe JOC president and will be in charge of the committees’ activities while Ishihara will hold the position as chairman.

Masato Mizuno, JOC vice-president and prior chairman of the sporting goods manufacturer Mizuno Corp., will take the position of CEO and be in charge of business affairs for the bid.

He was up for the same position with the 2016 Tokyo bid but his position as chairman of a major sports equipment company and a sponsor for many high level events was seen as a conflict of interest according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). For Tokyo 2020, early this week Mizuno has stepped down as chairman to help the Japanese bid.

Mizuno said, ” I retired from Mizuno Corp. entirely for taking responsibility of CEO of the Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee according to the code of conduct of the IOC in order for avoiding a conflict of interest.  Mizuno Corp. has been an official supplier of the IOC.

“My younger brother Akito is now taking good leadership in running the company.  I would like to strive my best to realize Tokyo 2020 Olympic Paralympic Games. It is not easy job and quite challenging task but in order to promote sport and the Olympism not only for Japan but for whole world through Tokyo Games we, the bid committee will do our best. We would like to make the kids of whole world smile.  We would like to make all generations happy.”

Bob Puccini, President and CEO, Mizuno USA, and Chairman of the Board, Mizuno Canada Ltd. Congratulated Mizuno on his support for the Tokyo Bid.

He said in a statement:”We wish Masato well in his endeavor to secure a bid for Japan in 2020. He has served as a tremendous leader to our entire company, which has blossomed globally under his leadership. His new endeavor certainly embodies the spirit of our brand, and our mission of contributing to society through the advancement of sporting goods and the promotion of sports.”

Tokyo will be running against Rome, Istanbul, Baku, Madrid, and Doha to host the 2020 summer Games. The final decision will be taken in 2013 at the Buenos Aires IOC session.