Olympic Notes: Japan Olympic Minister Backs Fukushima To Host Baseball

Japanese Olympic Minister Toshiaki Endo said that he hopes Fukushima prefecture "can host preliminary rounds of baseball and softball at the 2020 Games." Endo made the comments Friday on the fifth anniversary of a magnitude 9.0-earthquake that struck offshore and "triggered a devastating tsunami, killing more than 18,000 people." The Fukushima nuclear power plant "spewed radiation after being hit by the tsunami" (AP, 3/11).

Switzerland is looking to bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics and has begun "the process that officials hope will bring the Games back to the Alpine nation" for the first time since '48. Swiss Olympic said that as a first step interested cities "will be asked to put in their bids" by the end of '16. A task force "will then evaluate the candidates before making a final decision on whether to bid" by Sept. '17 (REUTERS, 3/11).