A delegation of four, led by Tokyo 2020 Executive member Yasuhiro Nakamori, personally handed in the document to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquaters in Lausanne. 

It included the the required guarantee letters, including one signed by Japanese Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihiko Noda, backing the campaign to host the Olympics in Tokyo for the first time since 1964.

It is Tokyo's second consecutive campaign to host the Olympics, having bid unsuccessfully for 2016, which was awarded to Rio de Janeiro.

But Japanse officials are claiming that this bid offers improved technical proposals.

Tokyo is promoting its 2020 bid as a symbol of Japan's recovery from the earthquake and tsunami last March that left over 15,000 people dead or missing on Japan's northeast coast.

British bookmakers have installed them as the favourites of rivals Baku, Doha, Istanbul, Madrid and Rome.

"The Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee, together with the Japanese people, is truly honoured and excited to submit our nation's Application File for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games," said Tsunekazu Takeda, President of Tokyo 2020 and the Japanese Olympic Committee.

"We have learned valuable lessons from our previous bid, which are evident in these improved technical plans.

"We look forward to unveiling them publicly soon.

"We are confident in the strength of our proposals and our potential to secure the honour, first of becoming a Candidate City, and ultimately the greatest honour of playing host to the 2020 Games."

Tokyo are due to unveil full details of their bid at a special event in the Japanese capital on February 16.

The IOC are due to announce which cities have been shortlisted for Candidate City status at its Executive Board meeting in Quebec City on May 23.

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