Tokyo intends to bid for the 2020 Olympics.

东京计划申办2020年奥运会。

City governor Shintaro Ishihara made the declaration following his re-election for a fourth term.

"Although they [the 2020 Games] are nine years from now, we can start raising our hand," he said.

"If we work hard with hope, it will be a big catalyst¹（催化剂） for our country's reconstruction² and revival³."

Large areas of Japan's east coast were devastated⁴ by the 9.0-magnitude quake and resulting tsunami⁵ waves.

In 2009, Tokyo lost out to Rio de Janeiro in the race to host the 2016 Olympics.

Ishihara was criticised for spending in the region of 15 billion yen⁶ ($176m) on Tokyo's failed bid which centred on staging a compact and eco-friendly games.

Candidates for 2020 must submit their bids to the International Olympic Committee by 1 September this year.

The host city will be chosen in Buenos Aires in September 2013.

Berlin, Busan, Cape⁷ Town, Doha, Rome and Istanbul are among the cities to have signalled an interest in bidding to stage the 2020 event.