Mayor Fumio Ueda of Sapporo City of Hokkaido Prefecture announced his intention to bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games on November 27 at the city assembly meeting. With the successful bid, it will be the second games to be hosted by the city following the 1972 event. As the Japanese Olympic Committee determines a candidate from domestic cities by 2017, the hosting city will be selected by the International Olympic Committee in 2019.

The majority of the Sapporo citizens supports the idea according to the result of questionnaires. Since several Asian cities including South Korea's Pyeongchang in 2018 and Tokyo in 2020 have already succeeded in bidding, some observers say Sapporo is not likely to be able to win the right. (2014/11/28)