THE JAPAN NEWS
 
Since September last year, when Tokyo was chosen to host the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, a consensus has been gathering in Japan that the country should use the events as a springboard into a new phase of economic and social development.
 
In 1964, when Tokyo hosted the Olympics for the first time, Japan had just completed postwar reconstruction and was determined to return to the international community. What should Japan, which now is a mature nation, then aim to achieve with its next Olympiad?
 
Fifty years on, the Olympics and Paralympics have evolved in many ways, compared with the previous Games in Tokyo. In 1964, public fiscal resources from the Japanese government and the Tokyo metropolitan government covered most of the financial costs involved. In contrast, construction and management of facilities to be used in 2020, except for national and metropolitan properties, are to be financed by the private sector. In other words, the operations of the Olympics will be largely privatized.
 
In 1964, only amateur athletes were allowed to participate. Today, Olympic competitions are open to professionals as well. There has also been a significant increase in the numbers of participating countries and athletes. Moreover, rapid advances in information and communication technology have let Olympic and Paralympic programs emerge as a high-profile theater for ICT-related business opportunities. This, in turn, has made cybersecurity extremely critical for Olympic organizers.
 
Baron Pierrede Coubertin of France, considered the father of the modern Olympic Games, envisaged that “Olympism,” the philosophy behind the Olympics, would eventually contribute to building a better and more peaceful world through mutual understanding in a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play among participants. To that end, the French founder of the International Olympic Committee emphasized the importance of fostering the education of people in mind and body through sports to the extent that they would be able to overcome differences in culture, nationality and other characteristics.
 
Needless to say, this Olympic goal should be fulfilled during the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo, but it will be equally important for us to create and add new values to the Games.
 
I think there can be three approaches. First, we should take advantage of the Olympics and Paralympics, though being a sports festival, as a catalyst to accelerate the country’s widespread promotion of culture, art and education. Second, we should encourage every part of the country, from Okinawa to Hokkaido, to make use of the Games, though being staged in Tokyo, in various ways for jump-starting local development efforts. Third, we should organize the 2020 Olympiad as an event that would leave lasting positive legacies in both physical and psychological terms for the future of Japan.
 
‘Discover Tomorrow’ vision
 
As director general and chief executive officer of the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, I would like to discuss what the committee is currently doing in earnest.
 
The first example is “Discover Tomorrow,” the official slogan Tokyo used in its bid to host the 2020 Games. To make good on this commitment, we are now working on specific measures from three different perspectives — that of athletes; that of Tokyo, Japan and the world; and that of individuals in Japan. We earlier solicited opinions from athletes as well as representatives of athletic organizations, news media and regional governments and invited primary and middle school students to send us essays about what they expected of the upcoming Olympics and Paralympics. Consequently, we unveiled an outline of the committee’s vision for the 2020 Games on Oct. 10, the 50th anniversary of the opening ceremony of the 1964 Olympiad.
 
Titled “Sport Has the Power to Change the World and the Future; Japan Changed in 1964; Let’s Inspire the World in 2020,” the vision has three pillars, calling on everyone to “achieve his/her best,” “accept each other as they are” and “pass [the changes brought about by the Games] on to the future.” After hearing further from representatives of various fields, the committee will finalize the vision and incorporate it in a Games Foundation Plan, which is scheduled to be submitted to the IOC and the International Paralympic Committee in February 2015.
 
The second task we yet have to finish is the selection of an emblem symbolizing the 2020 Games. The London Games’ organizing committee invited a group of designated design firms to a tender for creating the 2012 Olympiad emblem. In our case, we decided to accept entries from a wider group of experienced designers with a certain level of accomplishment. More than 100 designers from Japan and abroad submitted their works by the recent deadline. We want to choose a winner as early as possible after a strict screening process.
 
Thirdly, we have to engage in marketing activities under the Tokyo 2020 Sponsorship and Licensing Programs to select “one company per business category.” We will ask the selected firms to pay sponsorship fees for being entitled to use the Olympic and Paralympic emblem and provide the Games with their products and services. Such fees will be a main source of revenue for our committee. This means it is no exaggeration to say the success of the 2020 Games depends on the outcome of our Sponsorship Program-related sales activities.
 
The organizing committee also has to deal with many other matters, including safety and security preparations, cyberterrorism prevention, transportation and accommodation for all athletes and accredited officials, anti-doping procedures, torch relay preparations, ticket sales and training sessions for volunteers. Currently, the committee is staffed by about 200 people, but the number will have swollen to 6,000 to 7,000 by the time of the opening ceremony of the 2020 Games.
 
All-Japan endeavor
 
We need to build a robust national movement. We look forward to seeing as many people as possible involved in volunteer activities, educational programs, Games-related events and the torch relay prior to the opening ceremony rather than just passively watching the Games. It is important to join hands to make the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics a success.
 
Therefore, we are considering a host of specific initiatives. First, we will actively collaborate with prefectural and municipal authorities across the country to establish an all-Japan network to advance Games-related cultural and specialty programs unique to each area. We will give importance to close cooperation with Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate, the prefectures worst hit by the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, to give dreams and hope to residents there by using “the power of sports to encourage people.” Furthermore, we will cooperate with educational institutions, especially universities, across the country as an important step toward the promotion of Olympic and Paralympic education. We will also work together with various cultural and news media organizations.
 
What legacies should we specifically expect the 2020 Olympics to leave? As for competition facilities, they should become post-Games venues for athletic and cultural activities, supporting lifestyles of health and cultural enrichment. Universal or inclusive design concepts should be thoroughly adopted for Games-related urban infrastructure development projects to make towns and communities more accessible to the disabled and elderly.
 
In our Games-related preparations, we should also make all-out efforts to continue disseminating to the rest of the world elements of classical Japanese culture, such as kabuki and noh, Japanese cuisine, the spirit of “omotenashi” hospitality and elements of pop culture such as anime.
 
Positive Games-induced legacies are expected to emerge particularly in such economic areas in Japan as science and technology, manufacturing and financial services. The country will rise in global esteem if it comes up with further breakthroughs in fuel-cell vehicle, robotic and ICT areas, among others, putting it at the forefront of innovation in the world.
 
It is also important to let the world know Japan has made swift and thorough efforts not only in the post-3/11 reconstruction process but also in taking all possible disaster prevention measures for urban areas. Considering that the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics will be the first Games to be held in a fast-aging society, Japan will be in an ideal position to exhibit the rest of the world a new model for countries that will experience similar demographic changes sooner or later. Such a model can be viable if we can create a new environment in which elderly people are able to enjoy sports activities as part of a health maintenance program or a contribution to medical advances.
 
In our preparations for the 2020 Games, we must frugally avoid unnecessary investments to minimize the financial burden on the Japanese public. Likewise, we will have to contribute as much as possible to the sustainability of society from the perspective of environmental protection and energy conservation.
 
Lastly, I would like to mention our ongoing study on whether it is possible for the Olympic cauldron that housed the flame of the 1964 Games to be reused more than a half-century later in the 2020 Games. If this idea comes true, it will symbolize both the durable art of manufacturing unique to Japan and the sustainability of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
 
Mutoh is chairman of Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd., a post he has held since 2008, and director general and chief executive officer of the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, a post he assumed in January 2014. He previously served as administrative vice finance minister from 2000 to 2003 and deputy governor of the Bank of Japan from 2003 to 2008.