In Olympics-heavy policy speech, Japan PM says Games mark new era for nation

Six months before the TokyoOlympicsopen, theGamesare already inescapable inJapan,including dominating Prime Minister Shinzo Abe'spolicyspeechto parliament on Monday.

Normally a staid set-piece laying out a nationalpolicy, Abe this time began with an impassioned evocation of the last time Tokyo hosted the SummerOlympics, in 1964,proudly viewed asmarkingJapan's return to the world stage after its defeat in World War Two.

"The first-ever live broadcast of anOlympics. As the entire world watched, the final runner entered theNational Stadium, Olympic torch in hand," Abe said.

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"It was a 19-year-old youth from Hiroshima, born on the day the atomic bomb fell, and his dynamic running showed that ournationhad fully recovered from being flattened by bombings and, full of confidence and pride, proclaimed to the worldJapanwas embarking on aneraof rapid growth."

In aspeechthat mentioned theOlympicsand Paralympics by name more than a dozen times, Abe said this year'sGameswill do the same thing for anationhe said was written off after a long period of economic stagnation.

"This will bring all the people ofJapantogether to walk forward together into anewage," he said.

But preparations have been plagued with problems, including delays completing thenewNational Stadium. High levels of E. coli bacteria at the triathlon swim site last year forced the cancellation of a paratriathlon swimming segment amid concerns for athletes' health.

Though organisers have pledged to keep costs within budgeted estimates, this has not included an estimated 3 billion yen ($27 million) to move marathons and race walk events to the northern city of Sapporo to cope with Tokyo's searing summer heat - an issue soft-pedaled in Tokyo's bid.

Also played down when Tokyo won theGamesin 2013 as the "RecoveryOlympics" for anationrebuilding after the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster was the situation at the crippled power plant, which Abe said at the time was "under control."

In his Mondayspeech, Abe touted infrastructure recovery in the area, noting that the torch relay will kick off from the J-Village in Fukushima.

"This place, which was the centre of operations for responding to Fukushima, is now becoming a soccer mecca for ournation, overflowing with childrens' smiling faces," he said.

The buildup of contaminated water at Fukushima has hampered efforts for the decades-long recovery and alarmed neighbouring countries.

Athletes from at least one country, South Korea, are planning to bring radiation detectors and their own food this summer.