OSAKA, January 24—The Japanese city of Osaka has officially submitted its bid host to
the 2008 Summer Olympics, and thereby joining a list of seven other competitors including Beijing and Paris.

With the February the 1st submissions deadline looming Takafumi Isomura, Mayor of Osaka, presented his city’s bid to the Japanese Olympic Committee in Tokyo, said JOC spokesman Tetsuo Oyama.

Osaka will be hoping that, as Japan’s second largest city, it can become the fourth Japanese Olympic host and join Tokyo, Sapporo and Nagano. However competition will be tough with Beijing, Paris, Toronto, Istanbul, Seville, and Havana the six other cities, having already tabled their bids.

The IOC will make its decision on who will host the 2008 Games in winter 2001. The IOC is still working out reforms to the selection process after the bribery scandal involving the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.