TOKYO, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo plans to send sports assistance to other Asian countries from next year, to promote its bid to host the 2016 Olympics, a major Japanese newspaper reported Saturday.

    Through the sports official development assistance, or "sports ODA", the Tokyo metropolitan government will extend athletic aids to Asian nations such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia, mainly in the form of dispatching coaches and donating sports gear, the English-version of the Asahi Shimbun said.

    Countries lacking sports infrastructure and experienced instructors will also receive help through the aid, which will come from part of a 20-billion-yen (about 170 million U.S. dollars) fund for sports and culture promotion in fiscal 2007. However, the exact portion is still undecided, according to local officials.

    The "sports ODA" is aimed to help Tokyo promote its bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, the officials said. Tokyo's likely rivals for the Games include Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Chicago.

    The Japanese capital hosted the first Olympics in Asia in 1964. Japan was also host to the Winter Olympics at Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998.