Chirac backs Tokyo Olympics

TOKYO.

Former French president Jacques Chirac on Tuesday backed Tokyo's candidacy to host the Olympic Games in 2016.

Chirac was president when Paris failed in its bid for the 2012 Summer Games, won by London after a tough fight.

"I hope that the city of Tokyo succeeds in its campaign to have the Olympic Games in 2016," Chirac said at a function at the French embassy in the Japanese capital.

"I am certain that the Games will find here in Tokyo a fertile ground to send to the world a message of harmony and solidarity," said Chirac, who is known for his strong interest in Japan.

Tokyo is up against three other cities -- Chicago, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro -- in its bid to host the Olympics in 2016. The International Olympic Committee will decide on October 2, 2009 in Copenhagen.

It would be the second Olympics in the Japanese capital after the 1964 Games.