Briefing starts for volunteer applicants for 2020 Tokyo Games

February 9, 2019

Tokyo--The organizing committee of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, and the Tokyo metropolitan government kicked off on Saturday briefing sessions and interviews for people applying to volunteer in the quadrennial events.

The briefing and interview venue, which is capable of accommodating 480 people, was almost packed.

At the day's briefing session, Hanae Ito, a public relations official at the organizing committee, said, "I want you to work so that you will become part of the performances of Olympic and Paralympic athletes." She competed in women's swimming events in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Games.

In the interviews, applicants were asked which dates they will be available for the volunteer jobs and if they have any requests.

Toshiyuki Kubota, 54, an applicant from Tokyo's Arakawa Ward, said that working as a volunteer in the 2020 Games will be "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"I want to boost the mood of the games with like-minded people," he added.

The number of people who applied to work as "field cast," who will help run competition venues in cooperation with the organizing committee, totaled 204,680, far more than the target of 80,000.

Meanwhile, the number of applicants for the metropolitan government's "city cast," whose jobs include providing tourist information, came to 36,649, against the target of 20,000.

The organizing committee will decide successful applicants based on the results of the interviews.

The metropolitan government plans to accept all applicants in principle. Jiji Press