The Economist - USA (2021-07-17)

34 Asia The Economist July 17th 2021

state of emergency(seenextstory).ItoYu­

ko, one of the fansgatheredoutsideKoma­

zawa  stadium,  lamentedthatthemoodis

“200% different”from1964,whenshefirst

fell in love withtheOlympics.Ratherthan

coming  togetherforthegames,Japanhas

been riven by them.Recentpollsshowthat

as  many  as  80%ofJapanesedidnotwant

them to go aheadthisyear.

The sense thatnationalleadersarepull­

ing an unwillingpopulationintoa disaster

has led to comparisonsnotwiththeprevi­

ous Tokyo Olympics,butwiththewarthat

preceded  them.Even EmperorNaruhito,

who almost neverspeaksaboutpolitically

sensitive  matters,hasmadehisconcerns

about pressing onwiththegamesknown.

Opposition totheOlympicsstemsonly

in  part  from  fearsofcovid­19.Japanhas

managed  the  pandemic well by global

standards,  withjust15,000deaths;Tokyo

has  seen  just  eightcovid­19deathssofar

this  month.  ButmanyJapanesefeelthat

the  success  hasbeenthankstoordinary

people who behavedresponsiblyandmade

sacrifices  in  theirpersonallives,whereas

the  governmentisstubbornlypersisting

with a risky undertaking.“It’snotjustthe

health  crisis,  butthedemocraticcrisis—

it’s the lack of accountability,”saysNakano

Koichi of SophiaUniversity.

Many  fume  thattheinterestsofspon­

sors,  tv networks andtheInternational

Olympic Committee(ioc) seemtobemore

important thanthoseoftheJapanesepeo­

ple.  That  the  gameshavemovedforward

despite public opinionshowstheyare“not

for  the  people”, but for “the people to

whom  the  moneyflows”,saysMiyakawa

Taku,  a  softwareengineerwhojoinedthe

protest outside Komazawastadium.

Things couldgobadlywrong.A covid­19

outbreak in the OlympicVillagecouldpre­

vent  events  from being held and leave

competitions withasterisksinthehistory

books.  A  carelessmemberofthepressor

an  official  delegationcouldsneakoffand

seed a larger outbreakamongtheJapanese

public. Athletesfromthedevelopingworld

could bring a moreinfectiousstrainofthe

virus home, turningthegamesintoa glo­

bal  superspreader event. Such a fiasco

would reinforcea senseofJapan’sdecline

and leave the publicmorewaryofengage­

ment with the outsideworld.

Japan might alsomanagetokeepthevi­

rus mostly undercontrolandthesporton

schedule. Executingthegamesinsuchdif­

ficult circumstancescouldinsteadserveas

a  reminder  of  Japan’sabilitytoovercome

adversity.  Eitherway,thelegacyofthese

Olympics  will  becontested.“Ifthiswasa

picture,  we  couldsaythattheframeitself

has become rotten,”saysSakaueYasuhiro,

a sports historianatHitotsubashiUniver­

sity in Tokyo. “Thepicturemightturnout

to be beautiful, butit isstillsurroundedby

this rotten frame.”n

MakingtheOlympicssafeagain

No fun and games

W

hen theworld’s best athletes gather

for  the  Olympics  every  four  years,

they  do  a  lot  more  than  run,  jump  and

swim. In a memoir published after the pre­

vious  Tokyo  games,  in  1964,  Dawn  Fraser,

an  Australian  swimmer,  pulled  back  the

curtain on life inside the Olympic bubble.

“Olympic  morals  are  far  more  loose  than

any outsider would expect,” she wrote. The

village’s  reputation  for  debauchery  has

only grown since. Organisers began hand­

ing out condoms to athletes in 1988, osten­

sibly  to  raise  awareness  about  hiv;  at  the

last  summer  games  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  in

2016,  they  handed  out  a  record­breaking

450,000. As one former Olympic skier put

it  to  espn The Magazine,  an  American

sports  publication,  the  Olympic  village  is

“just  a  magical,  fairy­tale  place,  like  ‘Alice

in Wonderland’, where everything is possi­

ble.  You  could  win  a  gold  medal  and  you

can sleep with a really hot guy.”

At this year’s Olympics, the atmosphere

will  be  gloomier,  duller,  chaster.  For  the

athletes, life in the village will be circum­

scribed,  as  laid  out  in  a  70­page  book  of

prohibitions.  They  have  been  asked  to  ar­

rive in Japan as late as possible (no earlier

than  five  days  before  the  start  of  their

events)  and  to  leave  as  soon  as  possible

(within  two  days  after  their  event’s  end).

They must present negative results in two

tests taken during the four days before they

leave  for  Japan,  and  another  negative  test

result on arrival. Though more than 80% of

athletes are expected to be vaccinated, they

will undergo daily tests, with a confirmed

case  leading  to  possible  disqualification.

Masks  will  be  mandatory  except  when

sleeping,  eating  and  competing,  meaning

that athletes will be required to wear them

even while working out in the Olympic vil­

lage’s  gyms  and,  if  they  make  it  that  far,

while  standing  on  the  podiums  to  receive

their medals. They will not be allowed to go

anywhere  except  to  their  accommodation

and competition venues. All meals must be

eaten quickly and without mingling at the

village’s  cafeteria.  Alcohol  will  not  be

served  in  the  village,  and  drinking  in

groups or in public areas will be forbidden.

The  athletes  will  not  be  the  only  ones

on  lockdown.  Japan’s  government  has  de­

clared  a  state  of  emergency  in  Tokyo  and

three surrounding prefectures to last until

August  22nd,  long  after  the  Olympics  fin­

ish. The government does not have the au­

thority  to  limit  the  public’s  movements,

but other restrictions will put a damper on

any  celebrations:  restaurants  are  being

asked to close by 8pm and not to serve any

alcohol;  residents  are  implored  to  avoid

“non­essential” outings. 

There  will  be  no  viewing  parties;  a

promenade  near  the  Olympic  Village

which  had  been  envisioned  as  a  raucous

fan  zone  will  be  closed.  Tokyoites  have

been asked to enjoy the games on tvfrom

their homes. Nearly all of the events will be

held without fans, foreign or domestic. “It

will feel very jarring,” says Sakaue Yasuhiro

of Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo: “Peo­

ple are being told not to go out, not to meet

up, not to have drinks; kids’ sports days are

being cancelled—and yet a global sporting

event is going forward.”

The  contortions  are  the  price  for  stag­

ing  the  games  despite  the  pandemic,  a

state  of  affairs  the  government’s  main

medical  adviser,  Omi  Shigeru,  has  called

“abnormal”.  Though  Japan’s  vaccination

campaign  has  picked  up  pace  after  a  slow

TOKYO

No spectating, no fraternising and no

lingering

Back when the Olympics were maskless