TOKYO — While the Olympic buzz is all about Beijing, another Asian capital is trying to woo the games back in 2016.

But Tokyo, host of the 1964 Summer Olympics, faces a major obstacle: a lukewarm response from its citizens.

Only 59 percent of Tokyo residents support the bid, the lowest among the four finalists. Madrid topped the list with 90 percent public support, followed by Rio de Janeiro (77 percent) and Chicago (74 percent). Public support is one of several factors in selecting an Olympic city.

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara is spearheading the bid, and drawing opposition inside city hall.

"The games cost too much money, and they destroy the environment," Assemblywoman Yoshiko Fukushi told The Associated Press. "Maybe there was meaning back in 1964, when the economic effects were positive."

For Asian hosts, the Summer Olympics signal their place on the world's economic stage: Japan in 1964, South Korea in 1988 and China in 2008.

The Tokyo Olympics are still widely viewed in Japan as a symbol of the nation's rehabilitation from the destruction of World War II.

Kenzo Yokoyama, who played on Japan's Olympic soccer team in 1964 and 1968, recalled the pride he felt when he rode on the Shinkansen bullet trains, which were built for the 1964 Games.

The Olympic stadium, designed by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange, remains a landmark with its trademark swooping roof. It became a source of pride akin to that in China for the "Bird's Nest" stadium, though the main Beijing Olympics venue is the work of overseas architects.

But times have changed. Japan rose to the heights of the global economy in the 1980s, then sank into a prolonged malaise that has left it a rich but somewhat troubled nation.

Rather than splurging on another Olympics, Fukushi says Tokyo needs to save for the future and prepare for an aging society.

City officials say the games will help revitalize Japan's economy and generate revenue for the city from broadcasting rights, ticket sales, licensing fees for Olympic merchandise and corporate sponsorships. They estimate the city's cost at $48 million for the bid itself and $3.5 billion for venues and infrastructure.

Ichiro Kono, chairman of Tokyo's bid committee, said there is still time to win over the public. The International Olympic Committee will award the 2016 in October 2009.

"We just have to get down to serious business so people will get excited about the games," Ishihara said.

Eriko Imura, a 27-year-old Tokyo resident who designs store-window displays, seems undecided. "There are both positive and negative sides," she said. "If Japan prospers, that's great."

Tokyo came out ahead of the other finalists in three areas: transportation, hotels and security.

Rio de Janeiro, for example, has only 23,000 rooms at three-to-five-star hotels and is proposing to use cruise ships and condominium apartments to make up for the shortage. Tokyo has 109,000 such rooms.

Tokyo officials say their proposal highlights the needs of an urbanized nation, such as protecting the environment, taking care of the elderly and teaching character to youngsters through sports.

Tadao Ando, a star Japanese architect, has been recruited to develop an ecology-conscious design for the 2016 Games, including planting a forest on a garbage dump in Tokyo Bay.

Still, the Asahi newspaper, one of Japan's leading dailies, expressed concern about Tokyo's bid in an editorial last month. The city needs to produce a more thorough plan, the Asahi said, warning that Tokyo could be paralyzed by massive traffic jams.

Moreover, Tokyo's finances are already in dire straits after a $380 million bailout of a mismanaged city bank.

"If the city comes up with an unrealistic plan that will weigh on the city's finances, the people of this nation and the city will surely reject the plan," the Asahi said.