Japanese excitement about staging the Olympics has been replaced by reticence, embarrassment – and now anger
Tokyo 2020 was supposed to showcase Japan’s achievements. The Games was the chance to construct state-of-the-art infrastructure and promote Japanese “soft power”, from Pikachu to Mario.
It was also to symbolise the nation’s recovery from the devastating earthquake and nuclear disaster in north-east Japan in 2011.
But just hours before the gleaming new National Stadium is lit with the Olympic flame, pride and excitement has been replaced by reticence and embarrassment as Japan reluctantly embraces the biggest sports event in the world.
The pandemic has left a dent in the reputation of the Games, scheduled to get under way with a two-and-a-half hour opening ceremony at 8pm local time today (midday in the UK). But scandals and misfortune have plagued the event since the outset.
Even the government admits that much has gone wrong for the largest sporting festival in Japan’s history, with Taro Aso, the deputy prime minister, bemoaning that the Olympics appeared “cursed” as the pandemic began. “I was pleased when Tokyo won the right to host the Games, but that seems a long time ago now,” said Kazuyuki Arai, a 62-year-old hospital cleaner. He was sitting in a bar in the city’s Shibuya district on Wednesday – the last time he will be able to enjoy a beer in a bar after 8pm as the government is calling early last orders until at least Aug 22.
He added: “And I do feel sorry for the athletes, but I believe the Games should have been cancelled completely because of the virus.
“It’s too dangerous, but they are about to start so it’s too late now.”
Health authorities reported 1,832 new coronavirus cases in Tokyo on Wednesday, the highest single-day figure for more than six months and an increase of 683 cases from one week earlier. Modelling suggests new cases will hit single-day records, around 2,600 during the Games, putting hospitals under intense strain. Masami Hikaru, a 21-year-old student, was on his way to meet friends.
“I tried to get tickets for some of the basketball games because it is important to support your national team in the Olympics, especially when it is here in Japan”, he said. “But now they have banned all spectators, it feels a bit pointless. It might as well be happening in another country because I can’t go.”
Miyuki Chiba, 30, will not be watching on television. “I’m not interested in sport and I think it is a huge waste of money,” said the office worker. She was also “upset” by Yoshiro Mori, who had to resign as head of the local organising committee in March after stating that having women on committees just dragged discussions out. The comments by Mr Mori – a former prime minister – were far from the Games’ only self-inflicted wounds. The creative director of the opening ceremony resigned after suggesting that a female celebrity be dressed as a pig and lowered into the stadium. While just five days before the ceremony, the composer overseeing music at the ceremony stepped down after admitting to bullying when he was at school.
Yesterday, another planner was fired after footage came to light of him making jokes about the Holocaust as part of his stand-up comedy routine.
Opposition remains high, with 65 per cent of people responding to a recent poll saying the Games cannot be held safely, despite the promises of the organisers. On Tuesday, a petition bearing nearly 140,000 signatures was submitted to the Tokyo city government calling for the Games to be called off, even at this late stage.
“It is insane to go ahead under the current circumstances, where we are facing the spread of the coronavirus and other challenges”, said Chizuko Ueno, one of the organisers of the petition. “We have seen the government completely ignore the voices of the people”, she said.
“We will keep voicing our opposition until the very last minute.”