LAUSANNE, Switzerland - The head of the International Olympic Committee's Future Host Commission has expressed hope that Japan will host a future Winter Games, saying it would be a "great pleasure."
Karl Stoss, who chairs the IOC's Future Host Commission for the Olympic Winter Games, also told Kyodo News in an interview on Thursday that there would be "absolutely no" problem with the Games being held at multiple locations in the country.
"We would like to bring it back to Japan, because Japan is a very important market with excellent snow conditions," the former president of the Austrian Olympic Committee said.
Japan last hosted the Winter Olympics in Nagano in 1998. After the Winter Games were held in Italy earlier this year, the French Alps and Salt Lake City were selected as hosts in 2030 and 2034, respectively.
Stoss acknowledged that the commission has a "privileged dialogue" with Switzerland over the 2038 Olympics. But he said 2038 or 2042 would be a "very good chance" for Japan or Asia, should the European country not be selected.
This year, momentum has grown for another Winter Games in Japan, with a local group representing towns and villages urging the Hokkaido government to pursue a bid and the head of Hokkaido capital's business community expressing support for hosting the event.
In Nagano, a local business group submitted a proposal to the city earlier this month, urging it to bid for the Games.
With venues for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics spread across several regions, Stoss said the IOC will "for sure" accept a decentralized hosting concept.
