“Tokyo Olympics” is now the hottest topic around the world. It was supposed to happen in summer 2020, but it was postponed to this year because of COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has caused difficult situations in the world. Let’s take a look at how the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics has impacted Japan.
In 2013, Japan’s capital Tokyo was announced as the host of the Tokyo Olympic games. This is, in fact, the third time that Tokyo was selected as the host city of the summer Olympics. The question is: Tokyo has truly been unlucky and jinxed when it comes to Olympics. Even in the first announced Tokyo Olympics of 1940, World War II caused its cancellation. Then, in 1967 the Olympics was thankfully successful. Then, the 2020 Olympics – we all are witness to the tragedy of the COVID-19 and of course the unease, postponement and of course disheartening experience for the athletes. Knowing the perfection and strong stress on ‘junbi’ – being prepared, and for being commended by the IOC for being the best prepared country for any Olympics, for Japan this was a massive blow to all aspects of politics, economy and the Olympics team.
Obviously, the spread of COVID-19 is the main reason for postponement. When the virus started its spread, a lot of sport events were put off or canceled so that athletes and other staff could be protected. Also, in March 2020, the World Health Organization recognized the “Pandemic.” Despite all this, the president of the International Olympic Committee was emphasizing that the Tokyo Olympics would be held as planned. Not to mention, the humongous cost of the Tokyo Olympics at 1,644 billion yen( approx 1113277359,618.00 Indian rupees) including additional cost 294 billion yen (199089746793.00 Indian rupees). No wonder there is such a huge number of opposers to the cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics as it would be a de-stabilizing waste of money. Amidst a ton of criticism from people, including athletes, organizations, and ordinary people, on March 24, finally, the IOC declared that the Tokyo Olympics would be postponed.
However, after rescheduling Tokyo Olympics, the case of COVID-19 increased throughout Japan and the world. In Japan, people have experienced a state of emergency many times. Many are criticizing Japan’s government for not doing anything about the Olympics, but in fact things are so complicated that the government cannot make it stop unconditionally. It is the IOC that has a right to cancel the Olympics. In addition, Dick Pound, a member of IOC, said Tokyo Olympics will take place “barring Armageddon.” This remark has been criticized for some reasons. Whether the games should be held or not has been debated recently. According to a nationwide poll, more than 60% of respondents have said the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics should be “canceled” or “postponed again,” though.
In this circumstance, organizers of the Tokyo Olympics are working hard to prioritize people’s lives. They are going to stage some of the games without an audience, are strengthening protection measures, and are proceeding with vaccination. Even though measures are carried out, it is almost impossible to make a situation of “no risk” at this moment. Personally, I feel the government is not decisive, but I cannot strongly criticize them because we do not know much about internal conditions. I hope we will be given the best decision about the holding of Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
References:
● https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/news/photos/galleries/tokyo-announced-as-2020-olympic-and-paralympic-games-hosts
● https://sportstar.thehindu.com/olympics/tokyo-olympics/faq/tokyo-2020-summer-olym
● https://www.joc.or.jp/games/olympic/poster/
● https://mainichi.jp/articles/20210406/k00/00m/040/012000c
● https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-2020-1ytg-progress-idUSKCN1UJ0VL
● https://sports.nhk.or.jp/olympic/article/column/0b4e7cb8c0754892b6ffa154be5ce891/
● https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/107021
● https://mainichi.jp/articles/20210522/k00/00m/010/128000c
● https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210707/k10013124071000.html
● https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-2020-1ytg-progress-idUSKCN1UJ0VL
● https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/
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Supervised and edited by: Nilima Sil Educator, NGO Professional, Foodie & Food Enthusiast, Traveler, Dance Enthusiast Sapporo, Japan |
Written by: Misuzu Homma Japanese High-School Student – DIG International School, Sapporo, Japan Disney, psychology and K-pop enthusiast |
