Japan leader announces redo for costly Tokyo Olympic stadium

FILE - In this March 5, 2015 file photo, Japan's National Stadium is dismantled for the renovation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, in Tokyo. When the dust settles on the marquee venue for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, it could well be the most expensive sports stadium in the world.Now, Tokyo's planned National Stadium for the 2020 Olympics will be the first to reach $2 billion, according to the latest cost estimate. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama, File) FILE - In this March 5, 2015 file photo, Japan's National Stadium is dismantled for the renovation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, in Tokyo. When the dust settles on the marquee venue for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, it could well be the most expensive sports stadium in the world.Now, Tokyo's planned National Stadium for the 2020 Olympics will be the first to reach $2 billion, according to the latest cost estimate. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama, File)

By Associated Press July 17, 2015 1 min read

TOKYO (AP) – In a major reversal, Japan’s leader announced Friday that the plans for the main stadium for the 2020 Olympics will be redone because of spiraling costs.

As a result, the stadium won’t be completed in time for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, as planned, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.

“We have decided to go back to the start on the Tokyo Olympics-Paralympics stadium plan, and start over from zero,” Abe told reporters after a meeting at his office with Yoshiro Mori, chairman of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee.

The government has come under growing criticism as the estimated cost for the new National Stadium rose to 252 billion yen ($2 billion).

“I have been listening to the voices of the people for about a month now, thinking about the possibility of a review,” Abe said.