Proposed new national stadium is seen in this handout picture released by Japan Sports Council.

AFP/Tokyo

Japan on Tuesday chose a new 2020 Olympic Stadium design, after an earlier version set off a row over a $2.0bn price tag that would have made it the world's most expensive sports venue.

The country's preparations for the global games suffered a humiliating setback this year when the government pulled the plug on the original stadium plan by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid following spiralling costs and complaints over the design.

Two new construction plans - both by Japanese architects and with sharply lower cost estimates - were released last week by the Japan Sport Council, which is overseeing the project.

After deliberations, the JSC chose the slightly cheaper of the two, a joint venture led by renowned architect Kengo Kuma with an estimated cost of approximately 149.0bn yen ($1.2bn).

"I think this is a wonderful plan that meets criteria such as basic principles, construction period and cost," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a special cabinet meeting on the design.

The winning plan, which beat out one by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Toyo Ito, is far below the price estimated under the now-ditched design by Hadid. Besides cost, her plan also drew complaints over its design.

Under the new plan construction is to be completed in November 2019, ahead of the January 2020 deadline demanded by the International Olympic Committee.

Tokyo is due to host the opening ceremony on July 24 that year.

'Awesome responsibility'  

"I am feeling the weight of the awesome responsibility," Kuma told private broadcaster Nippon TV right after the announcement.

The new plan aims to "create Japanese tradition" by using steel frames and wood with a concept of a "stadium of trees and green", according to the JSC.

It will have a height of 49.2 metres, lower than the original design of 70 metres, which was criticised as being too high and being a potential eyesore on Tokyo's skyline.

Abe shocked Olympic organisers in July when he pulled the plug on Hadid's futuristic design as soaring costs put it on course to become the world's most expensive sports stadium.

Japan slashed the cost of the new Olympic stadium by more than 40%, setting a 155bn yen cap on construction costs.

This month Tokyo Governor Yoichi Masuzoe, who had openly criticised the initial price tag, agreed that the metropolitan government would shoulder one quarter of the 155bn yen budget.

The stadium fiasco has pushed back the new venue's completion date, embarrassing Japanese sport officials who have also been forced to find an alternate showpiece site for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, which the country is hosting.

Following Tokyo's decision to scrap the design plans, former sports minister Hakubun Shimomura in September said he would step down.

Japan in August promised a new list of venues for the 2019 World Cup after rugby's governing body demanded fresh plans in the wake of the proposed national stadium being scrapped.