Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto said that security "is his greatest concern but believes Japan will be safe from the kind of mass street protests currently overshadowing this summer’s Rio de Janeiro Games," according to Andrew McKirdy of the JAPAN TIMES. He said, "If I had to choose just one challenge from many it would have to be security. There are many threats of terrorism in the world. It’s not just a physical threat, but also the threat of cyberterrorism. The level of threat that terrorism poses gets more and more complicated each year. No one knows how sophisticated cyberterrorism will have become by 2020." The Olympics "proved to be a lightning rod for demonstrations in recession-hit Brazil." But Muto, a former deputy governor of the Bank of Japan, "is confident that Tokyo can avoid similar scenes despite public concern over the cost of hosting the Olympics." He said, "The demonstrations in Brazil are down to the fact that the economy is in great difficulty and the government is in trouble. At times like that, there are bigger things to think about than a sports festival." Tokyo 2020 organizers managed to cut around $1.5B in costs, but the Games "have nonetheless been accused of gobbling up public funds and slowing the pace of recovery in the areas affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake." Muto said, "If you look at it in isolation, labor costs have started to rise recently and I understand that could have a negative effect on recovery. But I think a successful Olympics will help people in the affected areas." The 2020 Olympics "suffered a series of embarrassing setbacks over the past year." Muto believes preparations "are heading in the right direction and remains confident that the organizing committee is on the same page as its political partners" (JAPAN TIMES, 4/4).
