Tokyo Opens First New Permanent Venue For 2020 Games

Tokyo opened its first new permanent venue for the 2020 Olympics on Saturday in a "welcome public relations boost" for the organizers "after a series of setbacks," according to Toru Yamanaka of the AFP. The opening of the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, which will host badminton and modern pentathlon fencing, offers Tokyo organizers "some respite after a disastrous rollout of plans for the 2020 Olympic stadium." Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said, "We are making real progress in our preparations." The venue, which will also host wheelchair basketball at the 2020 Paralympics, is the "first of eight new permanent venues to be completed." The main arena boasts a seating capacity of more than 10,000 and includes a swimming pool, a gym, a multi-use sports area and two fitness studios, "all of which will be available for use by the general public" (AFP, 11/26).