13 Days ago, only a small number of Olympic-related people and media in the Tokyo New National Stadium were waiting for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. In the residential building opposite the stadium, people voluntarily posted “Tokyo 2020” on the windows, dancing their bodies for the Olympics. Cheers, but at the same time, a group of protesters used tweeters to broadcast “No Olympics”, which also truly demonstrated the special and difficult aspects of this Olympics.
The organizing committee did not turn on the music or tried to “cover up” in other ways, but waited for the opening time to come, the lights dimmed, and applause broke out. Pull back to the Olympics itself.
Today, the torch on the main torch has been lit for 13 days, the protests have disappeared, and the new National Arena and the five-ring signs at the entrance still maintain high popularity, becoming the Olympic attractions where people are rushing to check in.
Behind the change in attitudes of the Japanese people is the consensus on sports
Before the opening of the Tokyo Olympics, according to the results of a poll conducted by the Asahi Shimbun, 68% of the Japanese people interviewed believed that the Tokyo Olympics could not be held in a “safe and secure” manner.
In the face of public opposition, the President of the International Olympic Committee Bach once urged the Japanese people to welcome and support athletes from all over the world, “The Japanese people can trust that this Olympic Games will be held safely. We are also confident that we will wait for the Japanese people to see the Japanese Olympics. With the outstanding results of the players, their attitude towards the Olympics may change.”
The transition is quietly appearing. On the night of the opening of the Olympics, the ratings for the opening ceremony in the Kanto region reached 56.4%, far exceeding the 23.6% ratings of the 2016 Rio Olympics in the region, and it was close to the 61.2% of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. At the same time, according to the Japan Broadcasting Association NHK, the server of the Olympic derivative shopping website was also paralyzed by too many visits on the night of the opening ceremony, and it remained unstable the next day.
The “Olympics” on the Internet is also not diminishing. Japanese Olympic athletes such as Japan’s first gold judo player Naoto Koto, and women’s skateboarding gold medalist Kaede Nakayama and other Japanese Olympic athletes have frequently appeared on social media. “It’s great to host the Tokyo Olympics.” Instead of “terminating the Tokyo Olympics to protect lives,” it has gradually become a new “Tokyo Olympics topic” on Japanese social media.
A number of Japanese media concluded that: “Some Japanese people have new changes in their views on the Tokyo Olympics.”
“There are always long queues here, just to take photos with the Olympic rings.” The Olympic badge collector Takeno will stand at the entrance of the New National Stadium almost every day, holding the sign of “Exchange Badge” in his hand, since the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics He, who will start collecting Olympic emblems, told reporters from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily that every Olympic Games will have a group of “Olympics chasers” like him. They use the emblems as a match and place small metal blocks on the big thumbs. “Travel around the world” and “just trade, not sell” is the principle of Olympic badge collectors. “If you want to know more about my story, use a Chinese team badge to change it with me. After all, the Tokyo Olympics is postponed, this opportunity I have been waiting for another year.”
“In fact, Japanese people have a high sense of identification with the Olympic culture.” Xiao Jinde, the chief writer of the Olympic column of Japan’s “Yomiuri Shimbun”, told reporters from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily that in Japan, athletes themselves are a respected profession, especially Athletes who have achieved good results in the Olympics are often invited to give lectures in various places, “has become a symbol of a cultural brand.” When companies are recruiting, employees with sports expertise are more favored, “because sports can shape people’s resilience, cultivate the quality of will, strengthen the sense of collective honor, and better form a good corporate culture.”
Japan’s emphasis on sports is closely related to the holding of the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. Professor Lu Xiaocong of the School of Sociology of Shanghai University told the China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily that after the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the Olympics gradually became consciously regarded as an important occasion to demonstrate national strength in international politics. Therefore, the 1964 Tokyo Olympics were not only It is a sign of Japan’s reintegration into the international order, and it also bears the important task of reshaping its national image.
According to the “Olympic Legacy” data released by the Japanese Embassy in China on the front line of the Olympic Games, it can be seen that based on the opportunity of the 1964 Olympic Games, Japan’s infrastructure has made a qualitative leap. After the war, most of the buildings in Japan were low-rise buildings. In 1961, the building standard law’s restrictions on storey heights were changed. Since then, a super high-rise era has begun to move towards modernization; more than 30 venues have been newly built and rebuilt, including the National Yoyogi Athletic A number of Olympic buildings such as the stadium are still important urban infrastructures in Tokyo; the most important thing is that 10 days before the Tokyo Olympics, the “Tokaido Shinkansen” was officially opened to traffic. As the world’s first high-speed railway, the Shinkansen once became Flag of Japan.
For the first Olympic Games in Asia, the host Japan ranked third in the Olympic medal list with 16 golds, 5 silvers and 8 bronzes, second only to the United States and the Soviet Union. In the context of severe social divisions caused by the Japan-U.S. “Security Agreement,” Lu Xiaocong said, “This Olympic Games has united the hearts of the Japanese people.” This is the “golden memory” of the Japanese, and it is also their participation in the Olympic Games. The beginning of harvesting sports culture genes.
The significance of the Olympic Games under the epidemic will surpass sports itself
Japan originally expected to “reproduce the glory of the 1964 Olympic Games” in 2020. However, with the sudden arrival of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, Japan ushered in the first postponed Olympic Games in the history of the Olympics. With the severity of the epidemic, the Japanese government has always struggled with whether to suspend the Olympics, and finally had no choice but to hold the Olympics empty before the opening.
According to Kyodo News, since July 1, the number of Olympic-related personnel who have tested positive for the new crown virus is 327. Although Japan’s “epidemic bubble” policy for overseas athletes and Olympic-related people has been repeatedly questioned, the Olympic Games are still going on smoothly, which to a certain extent alleviated Japanese people’s concerns about the spread of the epidemic before the opening.
“To what extent an Olympic Games without spectators can progress, everyone has no idea. But so far, the role of propagating Olympic values and athlete spirit carried by the Olympic Games has been demonstrated. If the Olympic Games can be successfully completed, the international The society will definitely give positive comments to the hosts that successfully hold the games in adversity, which will help Japan’s international image.” Zhong Bingshu, a professor at the Capital Institute of Physical Education, told a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily that if the Olympic Games can be successfully held, It will be able to play a similar role to the 1964 Olympics. “The 1964 Olympics helped Japan to fully rejuvenate, and this tournament was also after the Japanese earthquake, nuclear power accident, and the epidemic. In this case, it can be successful. Holding such a large-scale tournament has also reshaped the image of the host to a certain extent.”
Xiao Jinde noted that after the outbreak of the epidemic, vegetable shops and sports training classes appeared most on the streets of Japan. Some instructed children’s sports training, while others provided teaching for mothers who like volleyball. “In his view, the Tokyo Olympics is the first event that has gathered people from all over the world since the global outbreak of the epidemic. After experiencing the blockade of borders and blocking the normal exchanges of international personnel, this place will become a realistic platform for people to explore how to Carry out normal sports activities under the normalization of the epidemic and return to normal life. For example, the tourism industry, which used to be full of expectations for the Olympics, has experienced screenings, but under the stimulation of the Olympics, new formats may usher in opportunities. “If the Olympics can be successfully completed, it will also bring confidence to the Japanese people in fighting the epidemic to a certain extent. , And at the same time take the lead in the world to give Japan a chance to rethink where to go next.”
“Young people now and those in the 1960s have different expectations for the Olympics.” Xiao Jinde said that young people need an era of internationalization, especially when the epidemic has blocked global personnel exchanges. A precious place for exchanges in the world. Here, Japanese judo players have demonstrated their traditional improvements after returning from studying in Europe. Chinese players such as Su Bingtian and Wang Chunyu have repeatedly mentioned the help of foreign teachers behind the breakthrough. The Philippines’ first gold medal also includes Chinese weightlifting. With the support of coaches, for the younger generation of athletes, the Olympics is a precious stadium that can truly connect with the world.