The northern city of Sapporo had aimed to host the 2030 Games, but Yamashita told reporters it would be “difficult to move forward without gaining people’s understanding”.
His comments come as prosecutors investigate allegations of bribery and bid-rigging at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, which have been postponed a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Yamashita was quoted by local media as saying he would discuss the issue with the mayor of Sapporo, who was re-elected on Sunday ahead of two anti-Olympics candidates.
Yamashita said the talks would include the option to bid to host the Games in 2034 rather than 2030.
He added that the elections in Sapporo “made it clear that many people in the city have concerns and anxieties” about hosting.
A poll conducted by Japan’s Jiji news agency showed that the majority of voters oppose Sapporo hosting the Games.
Of the 651 voters surveyed after casting their ballots, 53 percent of them said they oppose hosting the Games, while 27 percent expressed their support and 20 percent had no opinion.
Sapporo has already announced that it will not hold a referendum on hosting the Games.
But it announced in December that it would stop promoting the hosting and conduct a nationwide survey to find out the level of support.
© 2023 AFP
