Tokyo residents burst into a thunder of excitement as a live streamed announcement stated their city had been picked to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.
"The outlook has not been so bright for the Japanese and this will be something bright, something Japan will look forward to," the Chicago Tribune quoted Tsuyoshi Ueno, senior economist at NLI Research Institute in Tokyo, as saying.
Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge revealed the news during an IOC meeting in Buenos Aires on Saturday.
Istanbul, Turkey and Madrid lost out to Tokyo, where the Olympic Games were first hosted in 1964.
Japan has endured bad news for the past few years, and this win is largely being regarded as something that might help uplift its people.
According to the Chicago Tribune, recent natural disasters including a tsunami and earthquake in 2011, coupled with a massive radiation leak at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, have left the population apathetic.
But some analysts wager the Olympics could provide enough of a boost for morale and the economy.
The Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee reported that the Games held in Tokyo could gain Japan up to $30 billion from heightened tourism and overall economic activity. They also estimated almost 150,000 new jobs will be created in time for the 2020 Olympics.
"I think three trillion yen [$30 billion] is a very conservative estimate," Ueno said.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe assuaged fears of health issues concerning the Fukushima Daiichi power plant spill, where over 300,000 tons of radioactive materials have leaked from their holding tanks.
"Some may have concerns about Fukushima," Abe said at the IOC committee meeting in Buenos Aires. "Let me assure you, the situation is under control. [Fukushima] has never done and will never do any damage to Tokyo."
During a press conference, Abe expressed gratitude to supporters.
"I am so happy, I am overjoyed," Bloomberg reported Abe as saying. "I would like to share this joy with Japanese people back home. In the whole world, people supported Tokyo."
The next summer Olympics are scheduled to be held in Rio, Aug. 5-21, 2016.
