The two cities, which were devastated in U.S. atomic bombings in the closing days of World War II and have since been rebuilt, said they would set up a committee to study the possibility of a joint bid.

Hiroshima mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, an advocate of nuclear disarmament who has called for the world to be free of atomic weapons by 2020, has previously said he wants the city to host the Olympics in the name of world peace.

“We are aiming for the abolition of nuclear weapons in 2020. If we are engaged in Olympic bidding activities in parallel, it is expected to produce a synergetic effect,” Akiba told a news conference in Hiroshima.