Xinhua News Agency Beijing, December 29th: The new National Arena built in Japan to host the Tokyo Olympics has been operating in debt, and the government has had to spend huge sums of money to subsidize it. The Japan Sports Agency announced the latest operation plan for this venue on the 28th, and plans to privatize it in the fiscal year 2024, but the government must continue to subsidize it.
According to Japan Broadcasting Association TV, the Sports Agency will invite companies or individuals interested in participating in the operation and management of the New National Arena to bid in the 2023 fiscal year, and launch a private model in the 2024 fiscal year. Japan's fiscal year begins on April 1 of each year and ends on March 31 of the following year.
On July 23, 2021, the opening ceremony of the 32nd Summer Olympics was held in Tokyo, Japan. This is the fireworks display above the New National Stadium. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Zijian)
The New National Arena has been operating at a loss since its opening in 2021. According to Kyodo News Agency , the operating expenses of the New National Arena in fiscal year 2022 are approximately 1.84 billion yen (approximately US$13.74 million), excluding land rent, while the revenue is only approximately 550 million yen (US$4.11 million). This means that the Japanese government needs to spend approximately 1.3 billion yen ($9.71 million) to fill the shortfall.
Even if the New National Arena is privatized, the Japanese government will continue to subsidize 1 billion yen (US$7.47 million) every year to support the operation of the venue; in addition, the Japanese government will continue to pay about 1.1 billion yen (US$8.21 million) every year to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and other owners for the lease of land occupied by the arena.
Sports Department said that the government continues to provide subsidies in order to lower the application threshold for private enterprises . A version of the plan previously issued by
proposed dismantling the track and changing it into a pure ball sports venue. The new version of the plan decided to retain the runway, partly because it can still be used when Tokyo hosts the World Athletics Championships in 2025. In addition, there are also opinions that the existing structure should be retained to facilitate future concerts.
The Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee released its final financial report on June 21 this year, showing that the total cost of hosting the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics was 1.4238 trillion yen, which was approximately US$13 billion based on the current exchange rate. (Shen Min)
