National Stadium (Tokyo)

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National Stadium

Kokuritsu Kyōgijō
The stadium during a J.League Cup match in 2004
Location	10-2, Kasumigaoka-machi, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Public transit	E25 Kokuritsu-Kyōgijō JB12 Sendagaya
Owner	Japan Sport Council
Capacity	48,000
Field size	105 m × 68 m (344 ft × 223 ft)
Surface	Grass
Construction
Opened	March 1958; 66 years ago (1958-03)
Closed	31 May 2014; 10 years ago (2014-05-31)
Demolished	May 2015; 9 years ago (2015-05)
Architect	Mitsuo Katayama

National Stadium (国立競技場, Kokuritsu kyōgijō) was a multi-purpose stadium in Kasumigaoka, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. The stadium served as the main stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as being the venue for track and field events at the 1964 Summer Olympics.^[1] The Japan national football team's home matches and major football club cup finals were held at the stadium. The stadium's official capacity was 57,363, but the seating capacity was only 48,000 seats.

Demolition was completed in May 2015, and the site was redeveloped with a new larger-capacity Olympic Stadium.^[2] The new stadium was the main venue for the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

The original plans for the new stadium were scrapped in July 2015 by Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who announced a rebid after a public outcry because of increased building costs. As a result, the new design was not ready for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, as originally intended.^[3] A new design created by architect Kengo Kuma was chosen in December 2015 to replace the original design and was completed in November 2019.