An ordinance had been drafted by the Japanese Communist Party calling for a public vote to be held on Sapporo's attempts to stage the Winter Olympics for the second time.

It was defeated following opposition from the Liberal Democratic Party, which controls the Assembly, as well as the Constitutional Democratic Party-affiliated People's Alliance for Democratic Citizens, and the Komeito Party.

The Liberal Democratic Party has dominated Japanese politics since its formation in 1955, with 1993 and 1994, and 2009 to 2012 marking brief interludes in its rule of the country,

During that time, Japan has held the Summer Olympics twice in Tokyo, most recently last year, and the Winter Games twice - in Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998.

Sapporo officials have insisted that a referendum is not required, pointing to a survey conducted the City in March which showed that approximately 52 per cent of respondents were in favour of staging the Games in 2030.

As reported by the Associated Press, Hideki Maruyama, a legislator opposed to the referendum, argued that the bid process was already gathering momentum, including discussions with business leaders.

Japanese Communist Party member Hitoshi Murakami claimed that the City's polls offer an unreliable gauge of opinion as they were conducted shortly after the conclusion of Tokyo 2020.

The "No Sapporo 2030" pressure group has also arranged a public demonstration for Sunday (June 12).

Public opposition was notably strong when Japan held the delayed Olympics last year, with polls regularly showing that a majority of respondents did not want the Games to take place and protests held over inflating costs and a COVID-19 surge.

Organisers estimated that Tokyo 2020 cost around $13.6 billion (£10.8 billion/€12.7 billion).

An initial estimate of the cost of staging the 2030 Games stands at $2.6 billion (£2.1 billion/€2.4 billion).

Salt Lake City and Vancouver have also declared their interest in hosting the 2030 Winter Olympics, with an International Olympic Committee (IOC) delegation having visited all three cities.

Neither the American nor the Canadian city plans to hold a referendum on their plans.

A Barcelona-Pyrenees bid for 2030 has also been mooted, but it has not been visited by the IOC because of ongoing disagreements between the parties involved.

The Catalan Government postponed planned public votes on the bid last month until the public have more information at their disposal.

The IOC is aiming to name the 2030 host at next year's Session in Mumbai.