Japan's Sapporo confirms abandoning bid for 2030 Winter Olympics

TOKYO: The northern Japanese cityof Sapporo on Wednesday confirmed its withdrawal from the bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The announcement was made by the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) and the city of Sapporo at a joint press conference held in Tokyo, which was attended by both JOC President Yasuhiro Yamashita and Sapporo Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto.

They confirmed that the city will withdraw from the bidding and seek to host the event in 2034 or later.

Sapporo, which in 2014 announced its bid for the 2030 Games, is facing sluggish support and growing public distrust over the bribery and bid-rigging scandals connected to the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021.

Having hosted the Games in 1972, Sapporo was once considered the front-runner to host the Winter Olympics for a second time. But the International Olympic Committee appears to have shifted its focus to other candidates after the scandals linked to the Tokyo Olympics, said local media.