IOC Pres. Candidate Watanabe Vows 5-Continent Olympics

London, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Morinari Watanabe, one of the seven candidates in the International Olympic Committee's presidential race, has pledged to stage the Summer Olympics in five cities on five continents simultaneously.

The IOC announced the seven candidates' campaign pledges Thursday.

Watanabe, president of the International Gymnastics Federation, or FIG, is the only Japanese running in the IOC presidential election, to be held in Greece next March.

He envisions that the five cities will host 10 sports each, saying that the five-continent system will reduce financial burdens on the host cities and help enhance a sense of unity around the world.

His other pledges include the introduction of a bicameral decision-making system to the IOC and a plan to increase the maximum number of terms the IOC president can serve from the current two to three while keeping the total duration unchanged at 12 years.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]