Olympic flag arrives in Tokyo for Olympics 2020
Smiling and waving athletes danced into the Maracana stadium taking selfies
TOKYO (AFP) - The Olympic flag arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday as Japan s capital gears up to host the 2020 Games, with officials promising smooth sailing after Rio s sometimes shaky 2016 instalment.
After stepping off a plane from the Brazilian host city, Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike held the flag at a ceremony at the city s Haneda airport.
"I strongly feel a heavy responsiblity" for the next Olympics, Koike told the crowd.
A kimono-clad Koike received the flag at the closing ceremony on Sunday in Rio where thousands of fans and athletes donned ponchos on a wet and windy night for a colourful festival of Brazilian culture and music with bursts of fireworks.
Smiling and waving athletes danced into the Maracana stadium taking selfies.
Japan s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a comical cameo as Nintendo video game character Super Mario as Tokyo set a light-hearted tone for its hosting of the 2020 Games.
Abe came out from a pipe after a video showed plumber Mario drilling down from Tokyo into the earth to reach Brazil.
"I wanted to show Japan s soft power to the world with the help of Japanese characters," Abe told reporters.
"I wasn t sure how the audience would react. But I received so many cheers. I appreciate it."
Abe pledged in Rio that he will work hard to host the best Games yet but Tokyo s Olympic preparations have suffered high-profile setbacks including soaring costs and having to redesign the Games logo after accusations of plagiarism.
French prosecutors have also launched an investigation into alleged bribes linked to Tokyo s winning Olympic bid, which organisers have denied.
The Games were awarded to Tokyo in 2013, with expectations that they would be a model of efficiency with the city touting itself as "peaceful, reliable, safe, and stable".
Koike, who was elected in July as Tokyo s first female governor, has ordered officials to rein in ballooning costs.
Koike is a former TV anchorwoman, defence minister and environment minister.
The games in Brazil -- which is embroiled in a political crisis over the impeachment of suspended president Dilma Rousseff -- suffered a series of setbacks.
Tourists, officials and athletes have had to dodge the scenic city s notorious street crime, structural problems inside the Olympic Village were a challenge and the Olympic diving pool turned green.
