Prompted by the recent deadly heat wave in Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met yesterday with the president of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic organizing committee, and discussed whether to introduce one or two hours of daylight saving time during the 2020 Olympics to help beat that summer's heat. Although Japan's 2020 Olympics bid said that Tokyo's July/August climate has "many days of mild and sunny weather" and is "an ideal climate for athletes to perform at their best", in reality a Tokyo summer's heat and humidity can be brutal: summer temperatures regularly get to 35°C (95°F) and last week peaked at 41°C (106°F). The International Olympic Committee has agreed to allow staging the marathon at 07:00 to beat the heat. "Why not 05:00? the sun will already be up then," Tokyo residents may be thinking. Apparently the recent heat wave has caused organizers to think the same thing, as a 2-hour DST would advance the event's effective starting time to 05:00 by the sun while still keeping it nominally at 07:00. Although the 1964 Tokyo Games were held in October to avoid heat, this was before the Olympics schedule was subject to the scheduling demands of broadcasters and sponsors. The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics ratings were down 9% from 2012 (including digital streaming) and event dates will be an important factor in the 2020 ratings. Although a 2-hour DST would presumably affect attendance and ratings only in Japan, that alone is a significant concern for the event's organizers. My sources: Tokyo weighs daylight saving time for Olympics as heat wave incinerates weather descriptions used for 2020 Games bid. Japan Times. 2018-07-28. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/07/28/national/tokyo-weighs-daylight-... OLYMPICS/2020 Tokyo organizers consider daylight saving to beat heat. Asahi Shimbun. 2018-07-28. http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201807280009.html