Tokyo’s planned national stadium "has been likened to a giant turtle, a cycling helmet and a doomed wartime battleship," according to Richard Lloyd Parry of the LONDON TIMES. It "is also the focus of a bitter row between Japanese politicians, architects and citizens as construction cost estimates continue to soar." The 80,000-seat stadium designed by Dame Zaha Hadid "will, it is hoped, be ready for the 2019 Rugby World Cup." It will also be the centerpiece "of the 2020 Olympic Games." However, "ministers have called for sweeping changes, such as the removal of an ambitious retractable roof, and have asked the city of Tokyo to foot a huge share of the costs." Tokyo Mayor Yoichi Masuzoe "has flatly refused." The original design had a budget of £680M ($1B), but that has climbed to £1.6B ($2.5B), partly caused by the demand for construction in areas devastated by the '11 tsunami. Additional running costs after the Olympics "are estimated at about" £24M ($37.5M) a year. Opponents said that the 70m-high structure "will be out of place in the quiet, low-rise Jingu district of Tokyo" (LONDON TIMES, 6/16).
