Nagoya, Japan, Mayor Takashi Kawamura said Tuesday that the city will rejoin Aichi Prefecture in a bid to jointly host the 2026 Asian Games, "after having said earlier this month that it may withdraw from the co-hosting plan," according to KYODO. Kawamura "made the remark at a joint press conference" with Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura in Nagoya, the prefectural capital. The development comes a week after the Japanese Olympic Committee approved Aichi and Nagoya as the country's joint candidate hosts, "on condition the two local governments submit an official document" attesting that they agree on the co-hosting scheme before the OCA General Assembly meets. Aichi and Nagoya said in May that they will "seek to jointly organize the Asian version of the Summer Olympics." Japan has held the Asian Games twice previously, in Tokyo in '58 and in Hiroshima in '94. But Kawamura said on Sept. 5 that he was "taking the scheme back to the drawing board" after the prefecture had not come forward with specific cost estimates. The prefectural government then indicated to Nagoya the total costs will come to roughly 85B yen ($835M), and after subtracting 25B yen ($245M) to be covered by sponsorships and other revenues, Aichi "would pay two-thirds and the city one-third of the remaining amount" (KYODO, 9/20).
