until last month the former prime minister served as the chairman of the japan rugby union. he said some people claimed the plan was given the go-ahead despite criticism because the construction had to be completed in time for hosting the 2019 rugby world cup. he said the rugby championship can be held at different venues. the education and sports minister says contractors for the stadium will be selected within about six months. he says the government aims to complete a new stadium by mid-2020 because it will take more than 15 months after its blue print is drawn up. the architect won an international competition to design the stadium. a spokesman for her office said the cost increases are not due to the design. and said in tokyo, there are steep annual increases in construction costs. her office said the design uses standard materials and techniques well within the capability of japanese contractors, and meets the proposed budget. the rising price tag for the new stadium has triggered much debate. nhk world has the report. >> translator: the purpose of the competition was

until last month former prime minister mori served as chairman of the japan rugby football union. before meeting abe, mori said some people claimed the plan was given the go ahead despite criticism because the construction had to be completed in time for hosting the 2019 rugby world cup. he said the rugby championship can be held at different venues. the education and sports minister says contractors for the stadium will be selected within about six months. shimomura says they plan to have a new construction by mid-2020 because it will take 50 months after the blueprint is written up. nhk world's shia yamagishi reports. >> reporter: the purpose of the competition was to choose the idea for the main stadium. i don't think there was a thorough debate on the cost. >> reporter: ando chairs the committee who chose the design. he said the designing team would hash out the construction and cost detail. the stadium was one of the main selling points in tokyo's olympic bid. it was designed by british arc tech -- architect hadid. it features two huge arches that require specialized advanced