IOC calls on Tokyo to keep costs below $20 billion

Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike walks past the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games emblem during the Olympic and Paralympic flag-raising ceremony at Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Tokyo, Japan, September 21, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

TOKYO - The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday called on Tokyo to keep costs for the next Summer Olympics below $20 billion as the 2020 hosts grapple with ballooning expenses.

IOC Vice President John Coates made the comment at a news conference after a meeting of a working group comprising Tokyo, the national government, Tokyo 2020 organisers and the IOC. ($1 = 111.9900 yen)