TOKYO — Three years after Japanese Olympic organizers selected a vast, sleek stadium design by a prominent Iraqi-British architect for the centerpiece venue of the 2020 Summer Games, the government announced on Friday that it would scrap the plan and start over because of spiraling costs.
The decision, announced by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, came in response to growing public anger over the stadium’s estimated cost, which has ballooned to more than $2 billion — an amount that would have made it by far the most expensive Olympic stadium, and probably the costliest sports venue, in history.