＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
1. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Bid Campaign and the Controversy That Followed
Until Tokyo was selected as the host city for the 2020 Olympic Games in September 2013, there didn’t seem to be much public enthusiasm for the bid.
Although there was considerable excitement after the decision, there were also many controversies, including the allegations of Kenjiro Sano’s plagiarism of the Olympic emblem design, the bribery allegations against JOC President Tsunekazu Takeda, the gaffe and resignation of Minister of State for the Olympics Yoshitaka Sakurada, the change in the design of the new National Stadium from Zaha Hadid to Kengo Kuma (due to the excessively high construction costs), the relocation of the marathon and race walking venues to Sapporo, Russia’s suspension from national participation due to allegations of state-sponsored doping, and the controversy over the ban on Nike’s platform marathon shoes.
The novel coronavirus pneumonia that originated in Wuhan, China, is currently raging around the world, raising concerns about whether it will be contained in time for the games to begin.
Does this mean that “good things come with many obstacles”?
2. Pros and cons of hosting the Olympics
(1) Advantages
① Ability to watch the Olympics in person
② Infrastructure development such as stadiums, roads, communications, and public facilities will progress
③ Promoting Japanese technology and culture to the world
④ Increased tourism from overseas will likely have a temporary economic impact
⑤ Increased employment in the construction industry will benefit the industry
⑥ Boosting the domestic sports population
⑦ Public excitement
⑧ Increased demand for 4K/8K TVs, OLED TVs, and other related products
(2) Disadvantages
① Enormous costs will be incurred to build infrastructure such as stadiums, roads, communications, and public transportation.
② Public transportation congestion is expected.
③ There is a risk of infectious diseases like COVID-19 spreading.
④ There is a possibility of terrorist attacks.
⑤ There is a risk of a temporary deterioration in public safety.
⑥ Increased litter and other waste will lead to hygiene issues.
⑦ There is a risk of increased bad behavior by foreigners.
⑧ Hotel prices in the host city and its suburbs will soar.
⑨ Venezuela and corruption will emerge among IOC members and international sports federation officials.
⑩ After the Olympics, maintenance costs for stadiums and other facilities will become an issue.
⑪ There is a risk of a recession following the Olympics as a backlash from the economic boom.
Of these disadvantages, I believe the most problematic is the “money issue.” This issue will be present during the bid process (⑨), during hosting preparations (①), during the Games (⑧), and even after the Games (⑩). Point ⑩, “The Olympic legacy will become a negative one,” feels like a body blow.
Furthermore, if the novel coronavirus pneumonia continues to spread globally at its current pace and becomes a pandemic, and if it is not contained by around May, two months before the Tokyo Olympics, in the worst case scenario, the games could be canceled or postponed.
If the Tokyo Olympics are postponed and held in October, it could be a blessing in disguise, making it a great season for both athletes and spectators. However, it may mean losing out on broadcasting rights fees from American television stations…
Furthermore, Nagoya City (which bid for the 1988 Summer Olympics) and Osaka City (which bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics) both tried unsuccessfully to host the games in the past, ultimately wasting a huge amount of taxpayer money. Regarding the failed Nagoya Olympics bid, former Aichi Prefecture Governor Yoshiaki Nakatani committed suicide, although the cause is unknown. Because it occurred one month after the 1988 Seoul Olympics ended, some speculated that Nakatani had “watched the Seoul Olympics and taken responsibility for the Nagoya Olympics’ failure.”
Tokyo also bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics under Governor Ishihara, but was unsuccessful.
Looking at it this way, it seems that there are more disadvantages than advantages to bidding for and hosting the Olympics.
3. The Olympics Should Return to Their Origins as a “Festival of Amateur Sports”
The motto of Baron de Coubertin (1863-1937), the founder of the modern Olympic Games, was “Olympic participants should not receive financial reward for their sport.”
For this reason, professional athletes were once completely shut out. People who took time off work to participate in the Games were disqualified simply for requesting “compensation for lost wages.” Rickshaw drivers were even told they couldn’t run in the marathon because running was their job.
Support from equipment manufacturers was also prohibited. Even the duration of training camps, transportation expenses, and laundry allowances were strictly regulated. However, as the Olympics became more show-like and commercialized, “strict amateurism” declined, and in 1974, the word “amateur” was finally removed from the Olympic Charter. Then, in 1984, professional athletes (ice hockey players) appeared for the first time at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics.
Recently, it was reported that Sapporo had been selected as Japan’s candidate city for the 2030 Winter Olympics, but it would be good if the disadvantages were also carefully considered.
During the time of IOC President Samaranch (1980-2001), the Olympics rapidly became more commercialized. During his presidency, the Olympics transformed from an “amateur sports tournament” to a “highest level sports festival bringing together professional athletes.”
Isn’t it time for the Olympics to return to its origins as a “festival of amateur sports” as envisioned by Baron de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, and move away from the “gold-soaked Olympics”?