Gundam Joins the Tokyo 2016 Bid

Obama has backed the Chicago 2016 bid, but Tokyo’s now got Gundam….beat THAT Obama! Tokyo’s Green Tokyo Gundam Project will kick off this weekend to celebrated the 30th anniversay of Mobile Suit Gundam (anime character created by Yoshiyuki Tomino) and to inspire young people to support Tokyo 2016’s commitment to sustainability and healthy living.

The giant 18 meter replica of this popular robot animation will welcome visitors to the man-made island of Odaiba, and will be featured throughout the summer season until 31 August. The project will help raise money for the city’s new greenery, which is part of the transformation the city is undergoing within its 10-year ‘Tokyo Big Change’ that will be completed in 2016 for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Contributions will be collected by the Green Tokyo Fundraising Campaign Committee and then used for four Olympic projects to increase greenery in Tokyo:

* Developing the Sea Forest, an 88-hectare area of land reclaimed from the ocean which will host the equestrian competitions at Tokyo 2016
* Planting roadside trees – doubling their number in Tokyo from the current 480,000 to around a million
* Planting lawns in schoolyards to provide an attractive, healthy environment for children to study and play
* Creating low-pollen forests in the Tama area of western Tokyo

***Information taken from Tokyo 2016 Bid website