Japan government
FILE - Workers prepare to remove giant Olympic rings from the waterfront area at Odaiba Marine Park after 2020 Summer Olympics came to an end on Aug. 8 in Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. A Japanese company embroiled in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic corruption scandal said Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, it would strengthen oversight to prevent further wrongdoing. (Kim Kyung-hoon/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Tokyo Olympic bribery scandal rolls on; company apologizes

By Yuri Kageyama And Stephen Wade Feb. 02, 2023 04:33 AM EST

FILE - Then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears as the Nintendo game character Super Mario during the closing ceremony at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Aug. 21, 2016. Despite his fame as a Japan's longest serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe might have had enjoyed his biggest moment at the closing ceremony of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro. (Yu Nakajima/Kyodo News via AP, File)
Abe impersonated 'Super Mario' to promote Tokyo Olympics

By Stephen Wade Jul. 09, 2022 01:07 AM EDT

Naomi Kawase, who directed the official documentary of the Tokyo Olympics, speaks to The Associated Press in Tokyo Friday, June 17, 2022. Kawase said her work was a challenge because public opinion was painfully divided, costs kept mounting, a scandal emerged over the logo design, disgruntled opening ceremony artists resigned and the Games were postponed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Yuri Kageyama)
Olympic filmmaker needed 2 movies to cover Tokyo turmoil

By Yuri Kageyama Jun. 17, 2022 09:50 AM EDT

FILE - The Olympic rings are seen during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics on Feb. 20, 2022, in Beijing. Will it be 2030, the first opening on the IOC calendar? Or might the International Olympic Committee make a double award and also name the 2034 host, which it did 4 1/2 years ago when it had two strong candidates and named Paris for the 2024 Olympics and Los Angeles for 2028. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
Salt Lake, Sapporo head race to 2030 Olympics, and maybe '34

By Stephen Wade May. 02, 2022 01:08 AM EDT

Denise Herrmann of Germany collapses at the finish line during the women's 15-kilometer individual race at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Olympics Live: US figure skater Zhou out after COVID test

Feb. 06, 2022 09:07 PM EST

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno speaks at a news conference in Tokyo, Friday, Dec. 24, 2021. Japan announced Friday it won't send a delegation of ministers to represent the government at the Beijing Games but three Olympic officials will attend, a mixed response to a U.S.-led move to boycott the games to protest China's human rights conditions. (Sadayuki Goto/Kyodo News via AP)
Japan won't send government delegation to Beijing Olympics

By Mari Yamaguchi Dec. 23, 2021 11:39 PM EST

FILE - Fireworks illuminate over National Stadium during the closing ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Aug. 8, 2021, in Tokyo. Tokyo Olympic organizers on Wednesday, Dec. 22 say the cost of the Games is estimated to be $1.8 billion less than anticipated. Official estimates over the last year said the costs would be $15.4 billion, and organizers now say that number is estimated to be $13.6 billion. Officials said the reduction in costs was because there were no fans and therefore no labor costs. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, file)
Organizers say Tokyo Olympics cost $1.8B less than expected

By Stephen Wade Dec. 22, 2021 09:05 AM EST

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian invites questions during a press conference in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. China on Tuesday accused the United States of violating the Olympic spirit by announcing an American diplomatic boycott of February's Beijing Winter Games. (AP Photo/Liu Zheng)
China says US diplomatic boycott violates Olympic spirit

Dec. 07, 2021 02:55 AM EST

Figure skating Grand Prix Final canceled over travel rules

Dec. 02, 2021 04:17 AM EST
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The figure skating Grand Prix Final next week has been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic for the second season in a row...

FILE - In this Dec. 1, 2020, file photo, the Olympic Symbol is reinstalled after it was taken down for maintenance ahead of the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the Odaiba section in Tokyo. U.S. athletes trying to make the Winter Olympics will have to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 under a groundbreaking new policy announced Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021 by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
Tokyo Games CEO: Official costs known early next year

By Stephen Wade Sep. 28, 2021 08:55 AM EDT

The flag of the United States enters the stadium during the closing ceremony for the 2020 Paralympics at the National Stadium in Tokyo, Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Paralympic closing marks end of Tokyo's 8-year Olympic saga

By Stephen Wade Sep. 05, 2021 08:31 AM EDT

Daomin Liu competes at Women's 200m Individual Medley - SM6 Heat 1 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
IOC's Bach defended over return to Tokyo for Paralympics

By Stephen Wade Aug. 26, 2021 01:15 AM EDT

People gather near the National Stadium in Tokyo as Blue Impulse of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force practice ahead of the 2020 Summer Paralympics, Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021.(Ryosuke UematsuKyodo News via AP)
Tokyo Paralympics press ahead to allow students to attend

By Stephen Wade And Mari Yamaguchi Aug. 22, 2021 05:22 AM EDT

FILE - In this Oct. 13 2019, file photo, Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas, right, of Finland passes Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany at the start of the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, central Japan. The 2021 Japanese Grand Prix has been canceled following discussions between the government and race promoters, Formula One organizers said Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021.(AP Photo/Toru Hanai, File)
Japanese GP canceled because of coronavirus pandemic

Aug. 18, 2021 04:47 AM EDT

A woman wearing a face mask to help protect against the spread of the coronavirus walks under the scorching sun Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Japan leader's medical adviser urges tougher virus measures

By Mari Yamaguchi Aug. 12, 2021 08:09 AM EDT

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga delivers a speech during a ceremony at Nagasaki Peace Park in Nagasaki, southern Japan Monday, Aug. 9, 2021. The Japanese city of Nagasaki on Monday marked its 76th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing. (Kyodo News via AP)
Japan's PM thanks people for safe Olympics during pandemic

By Mari Yamaguchi Aug. 09, 2021 03:49 AM EDT

FILE - In this July 23, 2021, file photo, fireworks illuminate over the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The price tag for the Tokyo Olympics is $15.4 billion. Tokyo built eight new venues. The two most expensive were the National Stadium, which cost $1.43 billion, and the new aquatic center, priced a $520 million. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama, File)
Tokyo Olympics cost $15.4 billion. What else could that buy?

By Stephen Wade Aug. 06, 2021 10:11 PM EDT

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, of Belarus, runs in the women's 100-meter run at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021. Tsimanouskaya alleged her Olympic team tried to remove her from Japan in a dispute that led to a standoff Sunday, Aug. 1, at Tokyo’s main airport. An activist group supporting Tsimanouskaya said she believed her life was in danger in Belarus and would seek asylum with the Austrian embassy in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Poland grants visa to Belarus Olympian who fears for safety

By Graham Dunbar Aug. 02, 2021 05:16 AM EDT

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, of Belarus, runs in the women's 100-meter run at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021. Tsimanouskaya alleged her Olympic team tried to remove her from Japan in a dispute that led to a standoff Sunday, Aug. 1, at Tokyo’s main airport. An activist group supporting Tsimanouskaya said she believed her life was in danger in Belarus and would seek asylum with the Austrian embassy in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Japan: Belarus runner involved in airport standoff is safe

By Graham Dunbar And Daniel Kozin Aug. 01, 2021 12:00 PM EDT

An office worker carries a plastic bag as people stand before a pedestrian crossing near Ueno Station in Tokyo Friday, July 30, 2021. Japan is set to expand the coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo to neighboring areas and the western city of Osaka on Friday in the wake of a record-breaking surge in infections while the capital hosts the Olympics. (AP Photo/Kantaro Komiya)
EXPLAINER: Detailing Japan's new COVID state of emergency

By Yuri Kageyama Jul. 30, 2021 03:25 AM EDT