More than four years after the Tokyo Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2021, efforts are underway to rescue the new Japan National Stadium from the potential fate of becoming a white elephant.
The stadium, built at the heart of the country’s capital in November 2019, served as the main venue for the Summer Games. Its annual maintenance and management costs are estimated to reach ¥2.4 billion, raising concerns that the stadium may turn into a negative legacy of the quadrennial sporting events.
To make it viable, the government-affiliated Japan Sport Council, the owner of the stadium, last spring privatized its management and operations. Banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, which earned the facility’s naming rights, changed its name to MUFG Stadium in January this year.
