Tokyo elects new governor to oversee 2020 Olympics

Yuriko Koike will oversee Tokyo’s hosting of the 2020 Olympic Games after she was elected as Tokyo’s first ever female governor.

The 64-year-old replaces Yoichi Masuzoe as Governor of Tokyo. Masuzoe resigned in June following allegations that he had used political funds for personal purposes.

Koike is expected to visit Rio to see how the Games are staged this summer.

The election was overshadowed by anger over the rising cost of hosting the Games. Organising committee president Yoshiro Mori last week said that the cost of developing seven temporary venues for the Games has risen to an estimated $2.6 billion, order up from an initial forecast of $690 million.

Work on the new national stadium, clinic which will serve as the centrepiece of the Games, has also fallen behind schedule after its initial design was scrapped, while Tokyo 2020 was also forced to commission a new logo after its original was at the centre of a plagiarism scandal.