Japan Sports Council broke ground on December 11 in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo to build the New National Stadium, the main venue for Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020. The ceremony was held on the day with attendance of leaders of the government and officials including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. The design and construction work has been commissioned to a joint venture of Taisei, Azusa Sekkei and architect Kengo Kuma.

“Tokyo will have a new stadium with world’s best universal design, in harmony with the nature and Japanese unique features,” said Mr. Abe at the ceremony. Ms. Marukawa hoped the stadium would become a legacy of the event, while Ms. Koike said “I am very excited in anticipation of completion,” pledging her administration’s support for development.

The stadium with a price tag of 139 billion yen has 194,000m floor space and 60,000 seats with the roof made of hybrid structure of wood and steel. Completion is due in November 2019. President Takashi Yamauchi of Taisei expressed his determination that the firm will complete the stadium free of accident integrating their expertise and technologies. (2016/12/13)