See You in Tokyo

Seventeen-day enthusiasm in Brazil has over. Rio de Janeiro Olympic was closed with dazzling ceremony in Maracanã Stadium on Sunday. Japanese media focused on how next city, Tokyo, for 2020 performed in sending welcoming message to the world. Japanese Prime Minister and Governor of Tokyo competed each other in exhibiting their political power on the stage, which had no interest for athletes. Although Olympic should have nothing to do with politics, Japan is introducing small domestic politics to it.

Japan was up in the air on the result of Rio Olympic. Samurais and nadeshikos from Japan achieved ever-biggest number of medals, 41, including 12 gold medals. After Kosuke Hagino obtained first gold medal in men’s 400m individual medley of swimming, Rie Kaneto followed in winning women’s 200m breaststroke. Judo team got three gold medals, impressing a revival of judo kingdom, while gymnastic team achieved two with great performance of Kohei Uchimura. Advance of Japan continued in wrestling with four golds and in badminton with one. In men’s 4x100m relay in track, Japan obtained an epoch making silver with brilliant combination in baton changing.

Athletes from the world enjoyed the final event of Rio Olympic in the shower of rain and samba. In the flag handover ceremony, Governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, in her highly unusual costume of Japanese kimono, received Olympic flag from Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, through President of International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach. Although Koike upholds a concept of “athlete first” for Tokyo Olympic 2020, she has been devoted in reinforcing her political power basis after winning the gubernatorial election against the candidate from Liberal Democratic Party.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to sell Tokyo 2020 as his own Olympic. Since he was successful in invitational campaign for Olympic games, he has been taking advantage of it for his political message, “Japan, proudly bloom in the center of the world.” He performed in an attraction, in which he played a character of video game, Super Mario Brothers, digging a hole in the earth to reach Rio de Janeiro from Tokyo with help of magical cartoon character, Doraemon. Appearing in the center of Malacanã, Abe yelled “See you in Tokyo.”

That soap opera was partly criticized as a political use of Olympic. “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas,” says Olympic Charter. It was actually unusual for a top leader of a country to participate in the performance of closing ceremony. Supposedly, he could not play a role of a supporter for Governor of Tokyo or the organizing committee.