PerhaPs more than any
other city, Tokyo bet big on
- Japan’s capital had ear-
marked $12.6 billion for hosting an
Olympic Games that would rejuve-
nate run-down neighborhoods and
turbocharge the country’s tourism in-
dustry. Then the COVID-19 pan-
demic hit, postponing the Games and
throwing the city’s plans into uncer-
tainty. Despite spiraling costs, Tokyo
Governor Yuriko Koike says her city
is ready for next year’s rescheduled
Games and sees opportunities to
leverage the crisis to improve gover-
nance. This interview has been trans-
lated from Japanese and was edited
for length and clarity.
Given the huge sums spent on the
postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics,
how important is making the re-
scheduled Games a success?
It is extremely important. You can feel
the power of sports is even stronger
because of the current situation—and
Tokyo 2021 will be a symbolic Games
to prove that people, all together from across the world, have de-
feated the virus. Since the Olympics were postponed, we have been
discussing with the International Olympic Committee how to down-
scale the competition and reduce costs. Our goal is to show a new
model for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Will there be any substantive changes in how the 2021 Games
are run in order to safeguard public health?
We have to make thorough preparations to account for athletes, spec-
tators and all those involved. We need to discuss border controls,
how we are going to welcome people from across the world and run
the athletes’ village. We need to make our countermeasures against
COVID-19 more robust. And our model will be passed on to future
Olympic host cities, such as Beijing, Paris and L.A.
How has Tokyo handled the pandemic, and how is it forcing you
to rethink how the city is run?
Tokyo has a population of 14 million, and we have had about 400
deaths from COVID-19 so far. We have been encouraging our peo-
ple to regularly wash their hands, wear masks and abide by so-
cial distancing. Currently, people are facing tough situations both
at home and at work. This year’s GDP drop was the biggest since
World War II. And we are aware that people will begin to lose their
jobs or their businesses. We must now establish our “new” daily
lifestyle and find the balance between keeping our people safe and
maintaining the economy.
How are you reassessing infrastructure needs following the pan-
demic, such as public transport and remote working?
Last year, only 25% of people in Tokyo used remote working, but
it went up to 60% in June this year. Japanese people were known
to work from early morning to late at night, but such habits had to
change after COVID-19. We would like to increase the remote-work
population further. This is a good opportunity to redesign Tokyo
from a city filled with automobiles to a city arranged around people.
How important is the relationship between the Tokyo govern-
ment and national government, especially at a time of crisis, and
how can it be strengthened?
We need to keep working closely with the national government in
various fields including COVID-19 issues [and] the Tokyo 2020
Olympics—and [new] Prime Minister [Yoshihide] Suga and I agreed
on that. At the same time, the local government has autonomy to a
certain extent. It is our responsibility to implement measures for
the well-being of local people. And we would like to ask the national
government for its continuous support for autonomous local govern-
ments so that we can fulfill our responsibilities.
Do you think COVID-19 can help foster positive change?
Although people’s attention is focused on COVID-19, climate change
has caused natural disasters across the world. It may be small, what
each individual can do; maybe whether a person wears a mask or
doesn’t wear a mask is a small issue, but such small things can make
a difference if shared by 7 billion people. More people began to ride
bikes because of the pandemic, and that helps reduce CO₂ emissions.
It is possible to deal with these two issues at the same time by fight-
ing the pandemic while sustaining the economy. •
RAISING
THE GAMES
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike on why
the 2021 Olympics will be so important
By Charlie Campbell
‘TOKYO 2021
WILL BE A
SYMBOLIC GAMES
TO PROVE PEOPLE
HAVE DEFEATED
THE VIRUS’
KENJI CHIGA FOR TIME
71
