Japan mulls cable car for Olympics venues

[TOKYO] A study is underway for the possible construction of a cable car that links 2020 Tokyo Olympics venues with a business area near the Ginza shopping district, said a mayor of the local municipal government.

A construction company is studying the feasibility of building a gondola lift that will connect Shiodome, on the western edge of Tokyo bay, to Toyosu on the east, said Takaaki Yamazaki, mayor of Koto ward, one of Tokyo's 23 subdivisions. The construction cost is estimated at 21.5 billion yen (S$262 million), he added.

The ward, where half of the newly constructed competition sites will be located, is seeking to tap a growing number of overseas visitors to Japan, which increased for two straight years to 10.4 million in 2013.