The exciting Rio Olympic Games concluded in late August and team Japan’s triumphant return parade was held in Ginza, Tokyo on 7 October with an audience of almost eight hundred thousand people. The next Olympics will be set in Tokyo in 2020.
Health Sports Day is a national holiday observed on the second Monday in October, chosen as it was the opening day of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, 10 October. The Japanese remember the date because epoch-making infrastructure to accommodate the games was put in place at the time, such as the Shinkansen bullet trains, metropolitan expressways and many world class hotels. Thus the approaching Tokyo Olympics remind the Japanese of the effect of the 1964 Olympic Games which signified the recovery from the disaster of WWⅡ and Japan’s reentry into the group of developed nations.
Although Japan is struggling to recover from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, we Japanese welcome the next Olympics Games not only in Tokyo but in every region. Many local governments want to invite various sports organisations to train in their local governments whilst promoting their relationships with foreign countries.
Why are we so passionate about the 2020 Tokyo Olympics you might ask? In short, it is because we have splendid memories of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and we are the most enthusiastic fans of the Games and eagerly look forward to inviting athletes and spectators from all over the world to witness the heated competition alongside us.
Katsunori Kamibo
Director