Obama victory could hurt Tokyo’s 2016 Olympics bid

11-08-2008 | REUTERS.

After hosting the 1964 Olympics, Tokyo reaches out to grab the 2016 event

Panama Star TOKYO. Tokyo staged its biggest ever anti-terrorism exercise on Friday, in an attempt to prove its credentials for staging the 2016 Olympic Games, days after Barack Obama's U. S. election victory boosted rival Chicago's hopes.

Sirens wailed as a thousand personnel drawn from the army, navy and coast guard, as well as police and rescue services, gave a carefully orchestrated demonstration of how they would deal with a nuclear "dirty" bomb explosion at a conference center.

Police abseiled from a helicopter and overpowered a group of men in balaclavas amid a cloud of smoke from fake gunfire. Rescuers in protective gear and gas masks assessed a group of "victims," while a navy ship stood by to evacuate the injured.

"We wanted to prove that we are capable of dealing with whatever disaster should occur," said Rikiya Kondo, an army officer seconded to the Tokyo city government as director for crisis management, adding that he hoped the message would be heard around the world.

The dirty bomb scenario was chosen because it is considered to be relatively likely, given that radioactive material has been stolen from various countries, Kondo said.

Japanese media have already begun speculating that Tokyo could lose out in the Olympic race to Chicago, the home town of U.S. president-elect Barack Obama.