500,000 pack Tokyo streets to hail heroes

Up to 500,000 people lined the streets of Tokyo yesterday to hail Japan’s Olympic medallists, organisers said, in a boost for the city’s bid to stage the 2020 Games.

Athletes who returned from London with a national record medal haul were lauded as they rode on open-top buses through the capital’s upmarket shopping district of Ginza. The Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) said about 500,000 people crammed into Ginza to get a glimpse of the country’s medal heroes. Japan came home from London with seven gold, 14 silver and 17 bronze medals, the country’s best-ever showing.u00a0