The Feedback of Our Presentation about NGO

Hello, after we did the presentation we got the feedback from classmates and teacher.
These are the feedback of the presentation.

【About the name of our NGO -Flourish Japan through Olympics-】

• Neutral...1 

Although there are not so answers for this, I think that the name was not so "catchy". In order to let people fascinated with our activities, we should have thought more catchy name, not the normal name.

【Are the mission and the goals important for our NGO?】

• Important...4
• Neutral...1

As for the mission and the goals, I thought that we could persuade audiences with strong evidences of good points to host the Tokyo Olympics. However, we could not think about those who disagree with hosting the Tokyo Olympcis. In order to let people who disagree with Tokyo Olympics think about the good points for hosting the Olympics, we should have thought about the bad points and the solution to deal with these points.

【Uniqueness of our groups】

• Absolutely Unique...2
• Unique...4
• Neutral...3

I found that our activities will unique. Although it is very simple way to hold the events and meetings, the different concepts of each events may have made our NGO activities unique.

【Fundraising Activities... Is it sufficient?】

• Insufficient...1
• Neutral...1
• Sufficient...6
• Comments; It's hard to see how enough money would be raised through our methods.

I think that most of audiences thought that it is sufficient to do our fund raising activities. However, in this way it is difficult to gather the funds from those who disagrees with hosting the Tokyo Olympics and to help the construction of Tokyo National Stadium. So we should have thought about the way to gather the money from those, such as the promotional activities through media before the fund raising. In addition, we should think about the participational fee from participants with a little expensive costs.

【Is it adequate to do the methods regarding to Media?】

• Absolutely Adequate...2
• Adequate...8
• Neutral...1

From this result, I found that our media activities will have an effect to let people be interested in our NGO, through web site and the broadcasting our video on TV or during the events.

【Did you feel persuaded to join us?】

• Very persuaded...1
• Persuaded...9
• Neutral...2
• Comment; It's hard for me to believe that people will happily donate money toward the construction of the national stadium and other facilities.

From this results, most of the audiences felt persuaded. However, as I wrote in this entry, we had to think about those who disagree with hosting the Olympics in 2020 and the tax problems regarding to the fund raising. I think that we should hold the events which both those who agree with Olympics and those who disagree with it.

【Quality of PowerPoint】

• Excellent...4
• Good...7

As for the PowerPoint, there will be no problem of lacking of the explanation of our NGO. I was so happy to get these responses because I made my PowerPoint and the promotion video so hard!!

【Comments we got (Quotes)】

• Your survey results were very well presented
• It was a well prepared promotion PPT
• They should act for saving us from terrorisms
• I'm excited to 2020 Tokyo Olympics so it was interesting
• The Olympics are world-wide issue. I think this NGO can get members from overseas too.
• I really think that Tokyo Olympics in 2020 will be good for Japan.
• It would be better by promoting it in various ways.
• The content was a little bit vague since there were so many words. Anyway, your basic thoughts were stable, I think.
• It is not about the NGO, but one of the speakers talked very fast, that I had hard time to catch up with her speech.

I thought that we got a lot of reactions to the Promotion PPT. However, I thought that I spoke too fast because I had a lot of points to talk about, it may have made our presentation a little vague and difficult.  Also, our NGO saw the Tokyo Olympics from single perspectives, so we should have looked at the problem from a lot of perspectives.

Through these feedback from our classmates and the teacher, we can improve our NGO, Flourish Japan through Olympics by creating the events which both those who agree with Olympics and those who disagree with it, and also talk about the bad points for hosting the Olympics. If we do so, we may be able to find the solution to deal with these points and it will lead to the persuasion people who disagree with Olympics to think that Tokyo Olympics will have advantages for Japan somewhat. Also, we should have looked at the problem from a lot of perspectives. So not only the media and the simple fund raising, we should have planned to hold the events at the English facilities, such as the English Villages and the events which will focus on the terrorism at Japan and discuss the solution for the dangerous terrorism in Japan through the events and the special lectures by one of the members of Self-Defense Forces and as for the publicity we should promote our activities via YouTube or some devices such as TV, radios and the newspapers. By doing this, we may have been able to improve the function of NGO more.

I think that we could communicate with audiences what we wanted to tell, however, I thought that there are too many information about NGO and because of the time problem, I spoke so fast that I made our presentation difficult to understand clearly. In order to prevent from the difficulty to understand our missions and the projects, we should have told our activities more simply, clearly and easily to understand, but more in detail. In order to persuade audiences more, we should have focused on the smaller points what we should tell about. Although there were no misunderstanding from audiences as long as we looked at the feedback, I thought that there were some points which audiences thought difficult to understand our projects or activities because of the very complicated and fast explanation by me.

From these feedback, we could mostly persuade audiences to join us, but in terms of the complexity and the single perspectives of us, some of the information could not be told well. So we should think about our activities and the simple promotion more.

Actually, this is our last blog post. I wish you also think about Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
Thank you for your reading!!!

Our Presentation of the NGO

Hello, we did the presentation of our fictitional NGO, "Flourish Japan through Olympics". and our slogan was: "Flourish Japan through the International Sports Festival!!!!!"
So, I summarized the points of our NGO!

【About the survey we conducted】
As for the detailed results of the survey, please look at the previous post "The result of the survey".
From the survey. we can see that Tokyo Olympics will have advantages for Japan.

In terms of whether respondents agrees with Olympics or not, the point which I thought it is interesting that the voice which are concerning about the economic recession and the hope for the economy recovery were remarkable. So between those who agrees with Olympics and those who disagree with it, there is the difference of the ideas for the same category, which is interesting. In addition, one of the respondents answered that it was difficult to decide exactly whether Tokyo Olympics is good or not, because it depends on the situation, especially in terms of economy.

【About the situations of Tokyo Olympics-From our blog-】
Next, we talked about the situation of Tokyo Olympics from our blog. So if you want to know more about the situations of Tokyo Olympics, please read our blog entries.
Our NGO strongly agrees with Tokyo Olympics so we talked about the good points to host the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.
The good points are following:

• Recovery from Great East Earthquake in Japan in 2011
• The economy recovery
• Flourish Japan through sports same as the Tokyo Olympics in 1964
• The strong relationship between countries
• Chance to improve the English ability of Japanese through the facility, "English Villages"
• Good impression of Japan

【The specific issue the group deals with and our goals we strive to achieve】
The specific issue
→ we will take actions to help the smooth management of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 as volunteers finally by using the knowledge from the events and meetings.

Our goals

• To help the Tokyo Olympcis more flourish with the power of the sports and the strong international relationships in 2020
• To let people around the world understand the advantages for hosting the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 through the meetings

【Our mission statement】
Although it is very long, our mission statement is like this:


Our mission is to discuss with those who agree with hosting the Tokyo Olympics and through the events and the meetings, to persuade those who do not think that Tokyo Olympics in 2020 is not good thing to make Japan flourish, in terms of the economic problems. In addition, we will let people around the world understand the history and the goals of the Olympics. And finally, we will help the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 as volunteers in terms of the management and the preparation of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

【Concrete ways that the NGO tries to achieve its goals.】
In our NGO, we try to give chances to think about the Tokyo Olympics by the following.

Monthly Events
→People who join the events will talk about the good points to host the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 with fun and relaxes. Also we can talk about the Olympics themselves and the previous Olympics in terms of the good points for them, with bringing the copy of the article on the Internet, or the other materials from books or magazines, whatever materials are fine!!

Monthly Meetings
→The special guest from the outside of the NGO who agrees with hosting the Tokyo Olympics will come and give us lectures about the Tokyo Olympics and the previous Olympic Games.

Also, in addition to these, sometimes we will join another outside events which helps to flourish the Tokyo Olympics, including the visit to the disaster-area for the publicity of Olympics. At last, in 2019 and 2020, we plan to help the management of Olympic Games, too.

Through these activities, we can think about the good points from many perspectives, so I think that we can have the strong opinions for agreeing with hosting the Olympics in 2020.

【How it is unique to other groups regarding to Olympics?】

In this NGO, we try to have a lot of opportunity to discuss the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 more than other NGOs, not only the time immediately before the Olympics but also the time when the Tokyo Olympics are drawing near and the members of the discussion is not only with the members of the NGOs but also with those who do not participate in the NGO regularly. However, after the events or the meetings, if participants are interested in the activities of this NGO, they can join us at any time!!!

【Network of our NGO】
We have the network with...

• Japanese Olympic Committee(JOC)
• International Olympic Committee(IOC)
• Japanese Government

→Through this network, we have cooperated with on the activities that help the management of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, especially in terms of the publicity.

【How NGO keeps running】
This NGO keeps running by your participation in the events and the meetings monthly, which you can join us at any time.Also, we try o gather the funds and sometimes the funds are raised for the support of the construction of the facilities which foreigners can also use conveniently and the management of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
In the stations or the public facilities, there are boxes for fund raising for our NGO, no matter how much do you donate, it will help us and the management of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

【Promotion Video】
After this, we broadcasted the promotion video of the NGO, unfortunately we cannot broadcast in this blog, we tried to persuade you to join us through the images and the sentences for Olympics in1964 and 2020, with the BGM was the theme song of the London Olympics in 2012, which the respondents of the survey thought it was most impressive games.

【Recruitments】
We recruit new members at any time, each events and the meeting. Through the e-mail or the telephone, you can join us and start the activities for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020!
It is no problem whether there are some events or not.

【Media】
We are creating the promotion video and it will broadcast through the events, meetings and on TV. Also, we create the web site. Through a lot of media we try to make the media interested in our activities.

【why it would be worthwhile to join us?】
Our NGO group gives those who do not have participate in the conference which are specializing in something but have the motivation to help Japan flourish through the Tokyo Olympic in 2020 and want to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 the chance to think about the Tokyo Olympics through the fun events and the easy meetings. So we can think about the Tokyo Olympics from the first step, by reading the articles about the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 even if the beginners of this kinds of conference can also participate in this NGO easily, that’s why it is interesting for you to join us. Anyone can participate in at any time!!!

That's all for the summary of our Presentation of our NGO.
To sum up, I think that the activities such as meetings or events will be needed because through this events which participants can join easily will give them the chance to think about the Tokyo Olympics more and more. Also, participants can also feel the fulfillment to be able to help the management and flourish of Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
The unique point will be the easiness to participate in the activities of our NGO. Also, you can join us at any time, which is the appeal point of our NGO.
Through the Flourish Japan through Olympics, we can think about the Tokyo Olympics and make Tokyo Olympics more immediate existence for us. Also, we can think that the Tokyo Olympics have advantages with the strong evidences.

So why don't you join us? You will want to watch the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 more and think about the good point for hosting the Tokyo Olympics in terms of the flourish of Japan and the economy etc.

Thank you for your reading!!!

※As I wrote at the top of this entry, this NGO we created is completely "Fictional"  and we do not have the relationships between other groups. And I'm sorry we do not have the plan to hold the events and to recruit new members.

Answer to Q15

Do you think the 2020 Olympics will succcess compared to prevoius Tokyo Olympics?
 
I think it will definitely succed in the 2020 Olympics. I found an article that gives 8 reasons why the Tokyo Olympics will be the most futuristic Olympics compared to the previous.
The first reason is that Japan is a village of robots and it has a high level perforamnce of technology.
Japan is one of the most automated nations on Earth. The major robotics industries in the US, China, Korea, Germany, France, and other countries work with—and compete with—the robot builders in Japan. So naturally, we’ll see an army of robots swarming Japan during the event. Enough to populate a small village, which is exactly what the Olympics committee wants to do.
 
The second is that there will be an instant language translating device by the Olympics.
The English skill level in Japan, compared to other advanced nations, is low. And while the number of foreigners learning to speak Japanese has skyrocketed in the last decade, there’re still significant language and cultural barriers that tourists run into. That’s why Japan is rolling out cutting-edge instant translation technology for 2020.
 
The third is about self-driving cars. There will probably cars driving by-itself by the time the Olympics will be held.
We’ve previously reported on the Robot Taxi plans from DeNA, the Japanese gaming giant that’s planning to get driverless taxis on Tokyo’s roads by the 2020 Olympic Games. That’s a significant achievement when some of the biggest names in tech—Google, Apple, Uber —plus car manufacturers like BMW, Toyota, and Mercedes are all scrambling to be the first to get fully functioning autonomous vehicles on the road.
 
The fourth is about the TV broadcast technology. Because of Japans high-tech machines, broadcasting of games will be high quality.
Japanese state television broadcaster NHK plans to air the Olympic Games in tantalizingly detailed 8K high definition. Just like the color TV boom of the 1960s, Japanese companies are hoping to make the new, ultra-vivid image quality the de facto viewing on screens in Japan and beyond.
 
Fifth will be using algae as a fuel source.
Algae has remarkable potential as an alternative energy source. It sucks in carbon dioxide and converts it into energy. It’s preferable to other green energies that are grown on land, like oil made from corn, because it can produce 60 times more oil per acre and is relatively easy to grow. What’s more, if you stick algae plants next to carbon-spewing coal plants, the algae can actually decrease the emissions level in the vicinity, all while cranking out useable power. The problem is that Algae’s super expensive—making a liter of the stuff costs about $2.50, and that cost needs to be closer to 80 cents to be a viable alternative.
 
Sixth reason is hydrogen-powered buses and buildings running in Japan.
Speaking of power, Japan is rolling out another alternate energy that could be a global game-changer. It’s the most abundant element in the universe: hydrogen.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Tokyo government plans to spend 40 billion yen ($330 million) in the next five years to improve hydrogen energy use leading up to the Olympics, making Japan a “Hydrogen Society.” When hydrogen gas mixes with oxygen in a fuel cell, it’s able to produce exhaust-free energy, just like water can.
 
Seventh reason is the artificial meteor light shows. It is said that there will be shows that will shoot meteor lights in the sky for an awesome ceremony.
A Japanese astronomy startup called ALE, CNET, RocketNews24 and the Japan Times report, wants to shower streams of manmade meteors across the sky, which could make for the most badass opening ceremony ever.
 
The last reason is the maglev trains. Japan is famous for bullet trains but there are trains that is goin on to the next level.
 Japan brought humankind high-speed rail with its shinkansen bullet trains 50 years ago, and now it’s eyeing next-gen rail travel: magnetic levitation. While some countries are arguably more advanced in this area—China’s operated a maglev in Shanghai for 11 years—Japan wants to bring the maglev to Tokyoites by 2020. JR Central, the railroad company that oversees Japan’s maglev train, hopes to have the train running to Tokyo in time for the 2020 Games, and then to Osaka by 2045.

Citation

"8 Reasons Why the Tokyo Olympics Will Be the Most Futuristic We've Ever Seen." N.p., 24 Sept. 2015. Web. 24 July 2016.

Answers for Q11-14

What do you think of the delayed construction of the new stadium?
I thought it is not a big deal beacause it is still 2016. However, it should be planned better so that it won`t get postponed and go on time.
 Do you think every thing will work out smoothly without any problems?
I do not think so. There are already problems of delayed construction of the stadium.
Do you think it is important  to recover from the disaster or to host the Olympics?
I think it is definetaly more inportant to recover from the disaster. However, there are several ideas about this question. One point of view is that hosting the Olympics may help the recovery in other ways by the economic boost. My point of view is to host after everything settles down and not to rush to host.

Answer to Q10

I think there are not enough to make the foreigners uncomfortable. People in restaurants, convinience stores probably would not be able to answer questions or tell certain places to foreign people. However, English speakers sre rising every year and there are groups to gather English speaking volunteers to help out people from other countries.

Answer to Q9

Tokyo made its pitch well. It has held three Olympics (one summer and two winter), so there's no question of whether Japan can handle it. Its bid motto was: a safe pair of hands. But there were questions about whether Japan could hold its Games with verve and passion.
"Previous Tokyo bids had been praised for their competence but criticised for lacking passion. That was not an accusation that could be levelled at them this time, with the urbane Princess Takamodo breaking with royal protocol to travel to Buenos Aires and lobby on behalf of the bid, and Mami Sato – a Paralympic athlete who saw her hometown devastated by the [2011] tsunami – delivering poise and passion," writes The Guardian, a British newspaper.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also emphasized a point that made the London 2012 Games such a notable success. Just as London organizers promised to make their Games a gift to the world rather than primarily a statement of British patriotism, Mr. Abe noted that the 2020 Games would be Japan's way of thanking the world for the help it gave Japan after the 2011 tsunami.
The lingering effects from that tsunami appeared to be the only lingering question for IOC voters. Despite fresh reports of radioactive seawater flowing from the damaged Fukushima power plant into the Pacific, however, IOC voters appeared to accept Abe's statement that the crisis had never – and would never – threaten Tokyo 150 miles south.
Tokyo Olympic organizers have even spoken of ensuring that the pre-Olympics torch relay passed through the area as a testament to its efforts at revival.
“It was a very good decision," Denis Oswald, an IOC member from Switzerland, told Around the Rings. "We go on the safe side after two Games where we have some risks, Sochi and Rio. It is nice to have Games where we are sure the organizers will deliver. It is technically a good bid, very concentrated.”

Citation
2020 Olympics: Why did Tokyo win Summer Games? (+video) , Sep 2013 Retrived July 21 2016

Answers to Q7,Q8

There will be an economic boost for sure but there will be a decrease after the Olympics.
Long waited news had arrived at Japan from the other side of the globe. 2020 Olympic games will be held in Tokyo, Japan. Critics had lost their tongue suddenly and all people seemed to be happy. If you search its economic effect of Tokyo Olympic with Google, you'll get over 11 million results. Major newspapers and TV broadcasters show favor. You may find good opportunity to do business in Japan.
Followings are some of points that opposing economists accused often.

1. Like Nagano Winter Olympic, local government will have budget deficits.
2. 300-billion-yen-effects is only 0.5% of Japanese GDP.
3. Using existing facilities, which is the one of the Tokyo Olympic concept, will reduce investment.
4. It effects only psychologically.

Citation
Tokyo Olympic Games, Retrived July 21 2016

Answer to Q6

Since I could not fing the information for Japan this is about the London Olympics is 2012. This can be a valuable information to think about the money movement for the Tokyo Olympics.

The £11.3billion needed for London 2012 came from £9.3billion of public sector funding and £2billion from the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games or “LOCOG” as it’s known.

Public sector funding includes money from central Government (ie taxpayers), the National Lottery and local authorities in London.

It was spent on building venues and infrastructure (£5.3billion), elite sport and Paralympic funding (£400million), security (£600million), regeneration of Lea Valley (£1.7billion), a contingency fund (£2.7billion) and VAT (£800million).

Citation
How much money does the Olympics make?(2012, Aug) Retrieved July 30, 2016

Answers to Q4,Q5

As you see our blogs, there are many informatin related to this question. The positive points are economic boost, enhacing English ability for Japanese people, and how other countries assess Japan would probably change.
The negative points would be increasing crime rate by more people visiting, garbage, and after the Olympics, it is thought that the econmy will go downwards.

The result of the survey

Hello, after we share the answers for the 15 questions, I would like to share you the result of the survey which I posted on this blog.

Since I do not have any SNS accounts, so my respondents: 21 people, which is a little number, were almost the female students.
Most of them are often accessing the information through the television, the smartphones and the newspapers.

【About yourself】
1. What is your nationality?

• Japan-19
• Japan/U.S.-1
• American-1

2.What is your gender?

• Male-5
• Female-16

3.How old are you?

• 10-20:17
• 21-30:1
• 51-60:3

4.How do you usually access news?

• Through newspapers (in print):7
• Through magazines (in print):2
• Through newspapers (online): 7
• Through magazines (online):3
• Through news on television: 13
• Through smartphones: 11
• Through SNS: 7
• Through word of mouth:2

→From this results, most of respondents use electronic devices to get information.

Based on the weight average of the result of the survey and as for the hope for the Olympic, the hope for the Olympic and the average weights were:

1. Strengthening relationships between countries:3.29
2. Economic recovery:2.95
3. The fun of watching sports:2.71
4. The flourish of our own country: 2.62
5. Motivating people to do sports: 2.48

I thought that it was unexpected because I thought that the flourish will be more important than the fun of watching sports. However, it is no problem to say that the Olympic Games influence on the fun to watching sports and it will lead to the motivations to do sports.

Next, the worries about the Tokyo Olympics and the average weights are like this:

1. The risk of terrorism happening:3.10
2. Economic troubles caused by the spending on the Olympics  and the traffic jams and the train delays:2.86
3. The lack of facilities that foreigners can use conveniently:2.62

I think that the most worry about the Tokyo Olympics is the risk of terrorism happening, too. These days, the number of terrorism is increasing, because of the cruel reasons. I think that many people will also think about that, so Japan should take actions to prevent Japan from the risk of terrorism happening. Although concerning with the lack of facilities that foreigners can use conveniently are very little, Japan should also improve the facilities both for foreigners and Japanese.

Next, the impressive Olympic Games:

1. London(5)...because of the opening ceremony.
2. Vancouver(3)...Figure Skater Daisuke Takahashi won the bronds medal.
3. Athens(3)... It is the oldest Olympic Games my generation remember.
4. Sochi(2)...moved by Mao Asada's performance, and the some frightening characters and the accident that the snowflake didn't open up to make an Olympic ring.
5. No impression(2)
6. Beijing(2)... theme of her summer vacation research project when the respondent was an elementary school student. Kosuke Kitajima won the gold medal in this Olympics.
7. Torino(1)...Shizuka Arakawa won the gold medals in figure skate.

Next, the main question: whether the respondents agree or not

• Agree...11
• Disagree...8
• I have no opinion...2

I think that this was the difficult question to think about. Of all those who asked to answer this survey, most people have the positive opinions for the Olympics.


The rank of reasons to agree with the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 are:

1. To encourage economic recovery ..60%
2. Strengthening the relationships between Japan and other countries and Giving foreigners a better impression of Japan...50%
3. To make Tokyo, the disaster area and all of Japan flourish ...40%
4. Showing its recovery from the Great East Earthquake in 2011 and Improving the English abilities of Japanese ...30%

As I expected, the economic recovery is thought to be influenced by the Tokyo Olympic in 2020 by respondents who agree with Tokyo Olympics. However, I was surprised that the showing the recovery from the Great East Earthquake in 2011 will not be shown so much. I think that the respondents may be concerned with the delay of the complete recovery from the disaster.

Finally, the rank of reasons to disagree with the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 are:

1. The stagnation of the recovery from the Great East Earthquake in 2011 ...71.43%
2. The economic recession may be made worse  and The risk of terrorism in Japan ...42.86%
3. Traffic jams and the train delays and The risk of Fukushima Daiichi Plant's radiation on our health ...28.57%
4. The difficulty in communicating with more foreigners than before: such as in shops or stations ...14.29%

Also, there are some opinions like this:

I want to see the ParaOlympics. One of the badminton athletes in the ParaOlympics want to win the gold medals at Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and also, he has his own NPO to support the children who have disabilities.

I think that the respondents thought that the delay of the recovery from the earthquake will be brought by the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. And in contrast to the previous questions 9, the percentage of those who have the concerning with the economic recession are high. In addition, we should think about not only the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 but also the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020, too.
Through this survey, I found that the Olympic Game have the pros and cons and the perspective of the reasons why they think so is various, so we should think about the points I wrote in this survey.

From now on, let's think about the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 together. What do you think about the Tokyo Olympics in 2020?

Q15. Whether the Olympic Games have the effect to decrease the conflicts, such as the terrorism and the wars or not

The simple answer will be: Although there is the symbol of the peace in the Olympic "Olympic Truce," the fact is that there is no difference of the number of the terrorism, whether the Olympics are held or not.

According to the official page of the Olympic, there is the tradition named Olympic Truce, which began in the 9th century BC in Ancient Greece. This tradition was based on the signature of the agreement decided by the three kings. During the time when the Olympic Truce is ongoing, athletes and their families and the other ordinary people could travel to attend the Olympic Games and return to their homeland after the Olympic Games were finished.
After the foundation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), it decided to make the ancient tradition of Olympic Truce as the thing to let us think about the peaceful solution for the wars or the terrorism all over the world.

Also, this is the quotes from the official page of the Olympic: https://www.olympic.org/olympic-truce

These are the points of the IOC to encourage:

mobilise youth for the promotion of the Olympic ideals;

use sport to establish contacts between communities in conflict; and

offer humanitarian support in countries at war ; and more generally :

to create a window of opportunities for dialogue and reconciliation

In addition, there is the symbol of Olympic Trace, which is the form of the dove, the symbol of peace. Through this symbol, the hope for the peaceful world and the warm friendship through the Olympic Games is shaped.

However, according to START,  there is no increase or the decrease which is related to the Olympic Games, which was shown by the survey of the number of the terrorism since 1970. But the solution to prevent from the terrorism is inevitable. From the background reports I wrote in the previous blog post in the question 7 (http://www.start.umd.edu/sites/default/files/files/publications/br/TerrorismAndOlympics.pdf), the connection is between the historical backgrounds and the political backgrounds, I think, such as the al Qaida attacked in Europe countries.

Through these point of view, although there is no increase or the decrease which is especially related to Olympics, there is the ideal of the IOC to make the world more peaceful.

I trust these two pages.
The first one is the official pages of the Olympic Games and it describes the symbol of the peace regarding to Olympic Games clearly, so we can understand the information easily and with no bias in this information.
Second, the article from START, it described the connection between the Olympic and the terrorism with the statistics of the survey. I wrote the information of the survey so I did not post here, but I think that through the survey we can rely on this source because of the exact result of the survey.

I think that although the terrorism and the Olympic is no special connection, we should think about the prevention of terrorism more through the Olympic Games. I was impressed by the story of "Olympic Trace." The origin of the ideal of IOC to hope for the peaceful world without violence and the hate is here. To decrease the number of the terrorism and the war, we should cooperate with each other, not only in our own countries but also with the people all over the world, no matter what their religions, genders and the places of birth are. So I think that the Olympic should last forever as the way to hope for the peaceful world. We should think about the world affairs once more and the hope for the world in the future, like the symbol "Olympic Trace"...

That's all for the answering the 15 questions. Thank you for your reading.
From now on, let's think about the Olympic, especially the Tokyo Olympic in 2020, thinking about the issues around the Olympic!!!


【Citaion】

• Olympic Truce. (n.d.). Retrieved July 17, 2016, from https://www.olympic.org/olympic-truce

• Olympics and Terrorism. (2012, July 25). Retrieved July 17, 2016, from http://start.umd.edu/news/olympics-and-terrorism

Q14. The hope for the Olympic Games (Such as: to show the peace of the world, to have fun to see the game etc.)

The simple answer will be: There are many hopes for the Olympic Games, not only the enjoyment of the sports but also the peace of the world and the unity of people all over the world.

The Olympic Games were created to wish for the young people to be the one who is harmonious through the sports and lead the harmonious lives. In the Olympics Games, there are no discrimination of the gender, the class and the nationality and the race, and many events are taken place in one sports festival.
The slogan "Faster, Higher, Stronger. " means that we should make an effort to complete ourselves, without the comparison to the other people, focus on ourselves, with the standard is ourselves. This word was created by Anne Didon in Dominico, the principal of the high school, and this words were said in 1891 as the school motto.
According to IOC, the three values of the Olympic Games are Excellence, Friendship, and Respect. These words mean that the young people are required not only to understand these words in their minds but also to act by their own actions.
The core of the Olympic Games is the sports, but around it there are wide range of the world, such as the nation and international problems, journalism and the doping.

According to Allison Cryer, the Olympic Games are not only the competition among the athletes, but also among people all over the world. The Olympic Games brought the world the unity, because of sharing the change to help each other, both among the countries and the athletes. In this time we can take root for the unity without the hate or the violent actions.
Also, Olympic Games brought to the safe place. Through the Olympics, we can compete through the sports and even if the team lose, the members of the team can congulatulate the winners without violence.
Furthermore, through the Olympic Games, we can try to do anything to reach our potential as much as we can. After we watch the competition of the sports and the athletes who are trying to achieve their goals and to exceed their potentials to win the game, we can think that we should try to push ourselves to be able to do something which we cannot do and to be beyond our potentials.

Through the Olympic Games, we can have the power to try something we cannot do now and create the safe world and the unity between the people all over the world.

I trust these two pages.
As for the pages written by Junko Tahara, the professor of Kokushikan University, I thought that the history of the Olympic Games and the meaning of the Olympic are clearly described in detail, so I could not use all of the information on this blog because there are much information which I want to use in this blog. Also, this page was easy for ordinary people to understand.
In terms of the second article which is written by Allison Cryer, I think that this article decribes the right opinions of the Olympic Games and we can understand the hope for the Olympic Games traditionally easily.

I thought that through the Olympics, I want to think about the world peace and world unity as Allison Cryer said in the article. We should think about the peace and unity through the Olympic Games and the athletes who are competing through the sports, without the violence and the hate. Olympic Games also tell us that the effort to do something will reach our goals and perhaps, beyoung the potentails. So we should protect the wonderful tradition of Olympic Games, to hope for the world peace, the unity with people all over the world and the great effort to try to do something....


【Citation】

• Tahara, J. (n.d.). 人類にプラスのレガシーを　～オリンピックの素晴らしさ～. Retrieved July 17, 2016, from http://www.joc.or.jp/olympism/olympian2008/index2.html

 

• Cryer, A. (2012, August 3). Olympics promote world peace and unity. Retrieved July 17, 2016, from http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2012/08/olympics-promote-world-peace-and-unity/

Q13. The reaction of people to host the Tokyo Olympic in 1964 in spite of the very difficult situation to hold the Olympic after the war

The simple answer will be: although there are little information about the survey of the reaction of people to host the Tokyo Olympic in 1964 and there are some opinions which say that the Tokyo Olympic in 1964 had the negative impacts, we can see the strong influence on people and the life at that time when the Tokyo Olympic in 1964 was held.

In addition, although there are some Olympic Games which were held in Japan, such as the Nagano Olympic and the Sapporo Olympics as the winter Olympic Games, I will focus on the two Olympic Games in the same place: the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 in this blog.

Although this answer will be similar to the question 12, the Tokyo Olympic in 1964 brought the big influence on Japan, in terms of the recovery from the World War Ⅱ, the rapid growth of the economy and the developoment of the infrastructure. Actually, at that time in Tokyo, the development of the town was needed, because the foreigners to come to see the Tokyo Olympic was increasing and the traffic infrastructure was needed because of the increase the number of the airplanes. As for the roads, the big roads like Aoyama Dori and the ring road No.7 was maintained in the period of preparation for the Tokyo Olympic in 1964.
Also, the construction of the Shinkansen was also carried out in the period of the preparation for the Olympic. Nowadays, the technology of creating the Shinkansen and its transportation is introduced to create the Taiwan Shinkansen.
In addition, as I wrote in the article about the presentation of the two aspects for the Tokyo Olympic in 2020, especially the old people say that they want to see the flourish of the Tokyo Olympic in 1964 again, and Prime Minister also inferred to this issue.
Through these facts, we can say that the Tokyo Olympic have the positive impacts through the people, and the infrastructures.

However, there were some negative impacts on the Tokyo Olympic in 1964.
Although it is rarely talked about, the funds to construct the Shinkansen railway was not paid attention to. Also because of the lack of the cost to construct the infrastructure, Japan needed to construct the railway or roads above the rivers by using the bridge. This was to avoid buying the land to construct the roads. So there were many difficulties to improve the infrastructures in Japan.
Furthermore, the Tokyo Olympic in 1964 led to decrease the population in the residental area. The residents in these area, more than 100 houses were forced to move to another place because of the save the place to construct the stadium for the Tokyo Olympics and the nature around these areas was also removed.
Through these aspects which are negative, we can see that not only the positive impacts but also the negative impacts influence on the people lives.

I trust these two articles: one is from The Japan Times and another is from the editor of the magazine "Tokyo-Jin."
Regarding to the first one, I thought that the facts which are unknown are described very clearly. So I think that through this article we can have the opinion of the cons to host the Olympics in 1964.
As for the second one, this article describes the development of constructing the infrastructure in urban area, especially in Tokyo in detail.
So through these two articles, we can see the influence on people lives brought by the Tokyo Olympics in 1964.

I was surprised to read the article which describes the negative impacts of the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. We should know about this aspect, too. I think that the opinion regarding to the Tokyo Olympics is filled with the positive opinions and the negative impacts become "blind."
I think that this post and the previous post which is written the answer for the question 12 will help us think about the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 too because there are some similar problems such as the economic problems and the infrastructure problems. So we should learn the previous cases from the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 to think about the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 more actively.
Although the age to host the Tokyo Olympic is different, we should know the both sides: pros and cons of hosting the Olympic Games more and more so that we could help the next Tokyo Olympics more flourish and influence on our lives positively, and have the good impression from the foreigners who come to Japan to watch the Olympic Games.



【Citaion】

• Whiting, R. (2014, October 24). Negative impact of 1964 Olympics profound. Retrieved July 17, 2016, from http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2014/10/24/olympics/negative-impact-1964-olympics-profound/#.V4tHANwkos1

• Suzuki, N. (2007, April). 東京オリンピックの遺産２. Retrieved July 17, 2016, from http://www.token.or.jp/magazine/g200704.html

Q12. Whether the previous Tokyo Olympic in 1964 became the symbol of the recovery from the World War Ⅱ or not

The simple answer will be: The Tokyo Olympic in 1964 ended with a big success, in spite of the very difficult time after the World War Ⅱ and a lot of reasons. So it will be no problem to say that the previous Tokyo Olympic in 1964 could show the recovery from the World War Ⅱ.

Actually, the Tokyo Olympic in 1964 was the first time to hold the Olympics in Asia. Also, the athletes gathered from 93 countries and the facilities which are comtemporary things were used in Tokyo and also in Saitama, Kanagawa, Nagano and Chiba.

Also, in terms of the athletes, 439 delegations were participated in and won 29 medals in total. Especially, as for the volleyball game between Japan v.s. Soviet, the TV program rating was 85%.

The Tokyo Olympic in 1964 influenced on not only the recovery from the WWⅡ, but also the rapid economic growth and the construction of the infrastructures in urban area, such as the Tokaido Shinkansen and the Metropolitan Expressway. However, Japan tried to spread the program for the athletes to develop their skills and also, it spread the sports facilities in order to have the opportunity from children to older people to do sports.

Also, the most important point in this question is that through the Tokyo Olympics Japan became the country which is peaceful and the economic situation is satisfactory. In the speech to host the Tokyo Olympic in 2020, the Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, inferred to the Tokyo Olympic in 1964, and he said that although Japan was much poorer than Japan at this time, Japanese were passionate about hosting the Olympic and it led to the success of the Games.

Actually, as I wrote in question 3 in this blog, the first Tokyo Olympic was about to be held in 1940, but it was cancelled because of the WWⅡ, and not only this but also because of the expulsion from IOC and other every sports associations. So Japan made blanks of sports for about 10 years and Japan could not participate in London Olympics in 1948 because Japan was seemed to be the country which made the enemies of Western countries. Also, at that time Japan was under the control of the United States of America.

In Tokyo Olympic in 1964, the Olympic torch was finished by Yoshinori Sakai, the athlete of the athletic sports, who were born in August 6th in Hiroshima and many people around the world watched the television to see this very successful sports and this was called "Olympic economy" and the game was broadcasted. That was the first time to use the computers to rate the television watching rates. Through this game, Japan tried to make the country cleaner and cleaner the water and the roads.

Through this Olympic in 1964, Japan started the new age, which tries to achieve the country which was said like this: "Catch up the world and pass the world." So this Tokyo Olympic must have shown the recovery from the World War Ⅱ completely.

As for the articles, I trusted these four sources.
As for the first and second ones, which was from IOC, I thought that these sites describe the situations when Japan tried to host the Tokyo Olympics and tried to make the Games succeed peacefully in detail with no false information. This site is official site so this sites have no bias from the two aspects: for or against to host the Tokyo Olympics.
As for the third one, this site is also the official sites of the Tokyo Olympic, but this focuses on the Olympic in 2020. However, this site also describes the achievement of the previous Tokyo Olympic in 1964 very clearly so I think that through the article about the Tokyo Olympic in 1964, they tried to connected between the Olympic in 1964 and in 2020.
In terms of the fourth one, this article describes the information about the effect brought by the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, with the insistence by the Prime Minister and the fact about the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 with no bias and in detail.
So I think that we can understand the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 in terms of the difficutlies to host, and the reason why this Olympic could lead to success in Japan through these articles.

I think that the previous Tokyo Olympics could show the recovery from the Tokyo Olympics very strongly. Although there are only about 19 years after the World War Ⅱ ended and this was very difficult time for Japan, Japan showed the recovery from the Tokyo Olympics and the rapid economic growth in Olympic Games. Especially, the Olympic torch lighted by Yoshinori Sakai must have strongly shown the recovery from the war and achievement of Japan's development, and Japan became one of the developed countries through the Tokyo Olympics. In addition, the Tokyo Olympic 1940 was canelled because of the very sad reasons. However, because of the strong efforts of Japan to try to recover from the depths of the sad situations. So I think that Japan has very strong power to recover from the very difficult situations.
Through the Tokyo Olympic in 2020, Japan will also show the strong power of itself. Although Japan still have a lot of problems to solve, Japan can show the recovery from the Earthquake in Tohoku area as well as the Tokyo Olympic in 1964 which showed the recovery from the World War Ⅱ.


【Citation】

• TOKYO 1964 Olympic Games. (n.d.). Retrieved July 17, 2016, from http://www.joc.or.jp/english/historyjapanokyo1964.html

 

• 東京オリンピックが残したもの. (n.d.). Retrieved July 17, 2016, from http://www.joc.or.jp/past_games/tokyo1964/story02/
• (This web page is written in Japanese.)

• T. (n.d.). The Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games. Retrieved July 17, 2016, from https://tokyo2020.jp/en/games/about/tokyo1964/

 

• Martin, A. (2013, September 5). The 1964 Tokyo Olympics: A Turning Point for Japan. Retrieved July 17, 2016, from http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2013/09/05/the-1964-tokyo-olympics-a-turning-point-for-japan/

Q11.The delay to construct the new stadium for the Tokyo Olympic:Are there some solutions to deal with this problem?

The simple answer will be: As I mentioned that there is not enough time to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 in question 10. Also, the delay to construct the new stadium will be the biggest problem and in December in 2015, the plan to reconstruct the new stadium with new design was emerged.

Althought it was thought to end of the controversy about the National Stadium in Tokyo Olympic in 2020 because of the new design of it by many people,  it is not the right thinking.
The newest design of Tokyo National Stadium is significantly similar to the past plan, which was abolished by the Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe because of the vast costs. Also, it is warned by the architects that Japan may repeat this kind of failure in terms of the construction of the Tokyo National Stadium. According to David B. Stewart, professor of architecture at Tokyo Institute of Technology, he said that in terms of the construction of the new stadium, there are several points which were mistaken and it is strange that we do not know how the points related to each other.

In December in 2015, the new design of the stadium  provided by Kengo Kuma, the architect, was chosen. And also it was announced that the construction will start in November 2016 and finish in 2019.

However, the controversy was not finished. Hadid complained to Japan that the new design is similar to her original design and Japan did not provide her the payment for her work. So she was frustrated.
On the other hand, Mr. Kuma insisted that the relationships between the work by him and the work by Hadid was unavoidable.
According to the office of Hadid, they said that as the solution to deal with this problem is to collaborate when we work with the architects and the clients.

Furthermore, not only the design problem but also the cost problem is arisen. Although the stadium is open for about 50 days, when Olympic and Paralympic are held. It is estimated that the cost will be about 2 billion dollars, which is the most expensive price for constructing the Olympics Stadium and in history. For example, in London Olympic in 2012, the preparation of the main stadium was one-third price.

Through the design and cost problem, the government plans that the time to finish the construction of the National Stadium will be in 2019, but it is difficult to manage to fit the timetable and the reality.

I trust the two resources which are written in the bottom of this page.
As for the article published by The Japan Times, I thought that it describes the controversy in terms of the design of the new National Stadium, focusing on the two positions: from the position of Hadid and the position of Kengo Kuma. So I think we can see the controversial issue about the National Stadium and the solution insisted by the Hadid's office.
In terms of the second one which was published by the New York Times, it described the problem of Tokyo National Stadium from the perspective of economy. Although I could not find the clear solutions to deal with this problem, I think that this article describe the situation about the cost problem as for the construction of new stadium in detail and with examples of the previous Olympics.

I think that it is a very difficult problem to come to a conclusion.
About the design of the Tokyo National Stadium, I agree with the office of Hadid. I think that one of the advantages for hosting the Tokyo Olympic will be the reason to strengthen the relationships between Japan and the other countries, so through the international cooperation in terms of the construction of the new stadium, it will be the important step to make the Tokyo Olympic in 2020 succeed.
In terms of the costs of the construction, I think that Japan should think about not only the luxurious design of the stadium but also the reality of Japanese economy as well. In the future, the financial problem will be more the serious problem in Japan. So in order to manage to finish constructing the Tokyo National Stadium by 2019 on time, I think that Japan may have to make the costs and the stadium itself a little or much smaller than the previous plan.
Through thinking about the dream and the reality of Tokyo Olympic and focusing on  the good points or strong points and strengthen these points, the Tokyo Olympics will become more and more better thing!!!

【Citation】

• Mckirdy, A. (2016, January 29). Despite new design, controversy may dog Tokyo’s Olympic stadium long after last lap is run. Retrieved July 16, 2016, from http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/01/29/national/design-controversy-may-dog-tokyos-olympic-stadium-long-last-lap-run/#.V4kLCdwkos0

 

• Soble, J. (2015, July 17). Japan Scraps Olympic Stadium Plan Over $2 Billion Price Tag. Retrieved July 16, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/18/world/asia/japan-scraps-stadium-plan-for-2020-tokyo-olympics-over-2-billion-price-tag.html?_r=0

Q10. Does Japan have enough time to prepare to hold the Tokyo Olympic?

The simple answer will be: The time to prepare for the Tokyo Olympic in 2020 is not so much, from the many perspectives.

The biggest problem of the Tokyo Olympic in 2020 will be the delay of construction of the new Tokyo National Stadium, but I will focus on this problem in the next question 11.

Not only the Tokyo Olympic in 2020 but also the previous Olympics held in overseas such as Sochi, Rio De Janeiro and Athens, except for the Beijing Olympic in 2008 and the London Olympic in 2012. The main cause of the delay of the preparation for the Olympic was the political or the economic problems.

According to Tatsuo Furuhata, the technology consultant, he thinks that there are three reasons to think that Japan does not have enough time to prepare to hold the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

First, the risk of the earthquake that directly hits Tokyo area when the Tokyo Olympic is held. When the Great East Earthquake in 2011 was occurred, the seismic intensity was 5 upper, however, it is estimated that if the earthquake that directly hits Tokyo area, the seisimic intesity will be 7. In 2004, Education science of earthquake research Committee estimated that by 2034 the possibility of occurring the big earthquake is about 70%. So it is not strange to occur the big earthquake in Japan. If Japan does not think about the disaster countermeasure enough, the damage will be heavier more and more. If the damage becomes heavier, the preparation of the Tokyo Olympic will delay in large extent and at the worst, the Tokyo Olympic itself will be cancelled. So, Japan should prepare for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 in terms of the big earthquake, regarding the Great East Earthquake in 2011 as the lesson for countermeasure for the disaster.

Second,  the number of the workers of construction will decrease. The number of construction workers is decreasing from 1996 because of the shrinking of the market and the rapid population aging. On the other hand, these days, the public works are increasing and construction investment of the demand of the recovery from the Great East Earthquake in 2011 are spreading. So the lack of the workers of construction is becoming more serious problem. Actually the fund for reconstruction costs higher than the direct construction investment for the maintainance of the facilities for the place of the Tokyo Olympic in 2020.  With these current circumstances, it is difficult for young people to have the motivation to work on the construction.

Third, the financial difficulties which was brought by the hardships of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. In the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, there are many problems held by them, such as the constitutional amendment, the TPP problem, the rework of the nuclear power plants and the financial difficulties brought by the outflow of the currency accompanied by the offshore procurement of the fuels caused by the postponement of the Consumption tax hike and the stop of the nuclear power plants. By worsening these problems, there will be the risks of reducing the government spending and the delaying of the construction of the facilities for the Tokyo Olympics.

With these reasons it can be said that Japan does not have enough time to prepare to hold the Tokyo Olympic.

I trust the two citations which are written at the bottom of this blog post.
In terms of the article by huffington post, I thought that this article was written by the specialist of the technology consulting and the reasons why Japan does not have enough time to prepare for the Tokyo Olympic in 2020 with very clear evidence in detail. Also, what I thought this was good that this article includes the previous cases connecting with delaying of the preparation for the Olympic Games. So we can compare the delay of the preparation for between the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and the previous Olympic Games.
As for the article from Financial Times, I think that this web page described the situation of the preparation for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, focusing on the construction of the Tokyo National Stadium. I will write about this problem with focusing on this problem in the next question, but I thought that through this article we could understand this big problem of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

I think that Japan does not have enough time to hold the Tokyo Olympic, too. These days Japan holds many problems to deal with, especially, connected with Tokyo Olympics, the economic problems and the plan to show the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. So Japan should work on these problems more actively in order to be able to hold the safe and smooth Tokyo Olympics by 2020. Furthermore, the problems Japan should deal with should be worked on not only before and during the Tokyo Olympics but also after the Tokyo Olympics. However, at first, Japan should set the goals to hosting Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and work on the problems with all Japanese, too.
In this short period to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics, Japan should think about a lot of problems from various perspectives, such as the opinions of the citizens and the economic situations.
I think that it can be said that Japan has already taken a step forward to get ready for the Tokyo Olympics by dealing with the problems in Japan, not only by planning and preparing for the Tokyo Olympics more directly.


【Citation】

• Furuhata, T. (2015, April 27). 2020年東京オリンピックの準備が間に合わない3つの理由. Retrieved July 13, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.jp/tatsuo-furuhata/tokyo-olympic_b_7149100.html
• (This site is written in Japanese.)

 

• McLannahan, B., & Juji, N. (2014, July 29). Tokyo Olympics costs jump amid construction labour shortage. Retrieved July 13, 2016, from http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/e43082cc-16d6-11e4-a5c7-00144feabdc0.html#axzz4EGHGPOrR

Q9. Should Japan make the traffic system more international by the Tokyo Olympic?

The simple answer will be: Although there is no information about the internationalization of the traffic system, Japan should try to improve the system of the traffic much more.

Although this question is similar to the previous question(Q8), Japan should try to work on dealing with traffic problems by the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
According to the The Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the traffic jams in Tokyo are chronic, even if there are no international festivals in Tokyo because of the low of the percentage of roads in Tokyo, the percentage of the roads in Tokyo is 15%, which is lower than New York with 30% of roads and Paris with 25% of roads. In 1998, only about the half of the roads are maintained, which shows that Tokyo is behind in development of social capital as the city.

Also, about the previous Olympics in 2012 in London, it was estimated that the "perfect traffic storm" will happen in London and about 33% more cars were in the traffic. In addition, according to the report, it is also estimated that the first three days will be chaos the most. However, about the 70% of the roads will not be effected by the Olympics and in the summer the traffic jams are less than winter.
So, through this description, what is the most important things as for the traffic will be: to maintain the roads and train systems.

I trusted these two sources, one is from the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and another is from the newspaper online, Mail Online.
In terms of the former one, I think that this is reliable because there is the situation about the disadvantages of Japanese infrastructures and the solutions to deal with. However, what I thought this is not good to use now is that this site is too old, more than 10 years ago. So, I think that the situation would change somehow, but in order to see the downside of the traffic systems in Tokyo, I thought that this site is very reliable.
As for the latter one, this is the news stories about the previous London Olympics. Although this content is not direct to Tokyo Olympics, the common points will be the concerns about the traffic jams in cities. So I thought that through this estimate, Japan should take actions to deal with heavier traffic jams in 2020.

Actually, what I was surprised was that there were no information about this question, but in terms of the previous Olympics held in overseas, I thought that the traffic troubles regarding to the Olympics will be common in cities where the Olympic Games are held. So, I think that Japan do not have to make traffic system international, extremely to change the direction of the running, but to invite more and more foreigners Japan should take some actions to improve the traffic systems and to prevent the traffic system from having the heavy troubles. However, in some countries the direction of two-way traffic is different, so in order to prevent the foreigners from puzzling, Japan should tell the difference of this traffic customs in Japan and should let foreigners have fun staying in Japan.

【Citation】

• The Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 東京の交通渋滞対策に関する提言～活力ある東京の実現に向けて～. (1999, May 13). Retrieved July 13, 2016, from http://www.tokyo-cci.or.jp/page.jsp?id=5446
• (This site is written in Japanese.)

• Massey, R., & Parkinson, R. H. (2012, January 18). A 'perfect traffic storm' will bring Olympic chaos to London as 33% more cars clog roads and motors crawl along at 12mph. Retrieved July 13, 2016, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2088293/London-2012-Olympics-A-perfect-traffic-storm-bring-chaos-city.html

 

Q8. Should Japan improve the traffic system and the barrier-free system to invite foreigners to Japan?

The simple answer will be: Some of the roads and the barrier-free systems are not so maintained so Japan should work on improving these systems and the barrier-free spots.

When the Tokyo Olympic is held in 2020, many people from all over the world come to Japan and there are more people than usual. So Japan should introduce the infrastructures and the information network which is useful not only Japanese but also the foreigners and the transportation which can be used safely and comfortably.According to the research which is the target for the persons with disabilities, about the 40% to 60% of them concern with the inconvenience and the anxiety about the public transportations.

To deal with this problems, Japan has already started some actions.
Tokyo 2020 Action and Legacy Plan 2016 Interim Report says that through the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and the daily lives Japan should realize the convivial society which the people with different backgrounds help each other and penetrate the barrier-free in our minds. In addition, Japan should make the public spaces which are accessible and are corresponded to the global society.
Also, according to  a White Paper published by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MILT) in June 2014, Asian cities from the perspective of convenience for businesspersons, and players from other countries which is dropping behind are rapidly emerging by the capital of Japan, that is, Tokyo. Furthermore, Japan is trying to make the high-quality transportation systems, such as making the subway system upgraded and making Haneda airport internationalized.

In addition, according to Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, they decided to speed up to make the train coach and the facilities in all of Japan barrier-free, looking the Tokyo Olympic in 2020 in the eyes. Also, in Japan there is the regulation of the size of the powered wheelchairs. So they asked the railway companies to ease the regulation to take the train by the scooter type powered wheelchairs which are common in foreign countries.

In terms of the articles, I trust these two articles, Japan Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – Infrastructure Briefing and the article from Japan.
As for the former one, I thought that this reports include the policy for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 from the official ministries and this site has the very detailed information about the infrastructure for the Olympic in 2020. So through this site we can see the solution to work on improving the infrastructures in Japan.
In terms of the latter one, although this article is written in Japanese, I found that this sites include the policy of Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare which is very reliable and what I thought to be reliable is that this article was emerged today!!! So I thought that this site is VERY CURRENT news story and through this article we can see the current activities for the Tokyo Olympics in terms of improving the infrastructures.

I think that Japan should improve the traffic system and the barrier-free system to invite foreigners to Japan.
First, as for inproving the traffic system, I think that the Japanese roads and the railways are very busy and especially the trains, they often delays in the morning or the evening, when many people use the trains to go for their jobs. However, in the other countries, there are very heavy traffic jams as long as I see in the videos or the news, although actually I have never been abroad and the train usually delays and it will usually not come on time so I think that the foreigners will not mind delaying the trains. However, the Japanese traffic system should be improved to invite foreigners.

Second, in terms of the barrier-free system, I think that Japan should increase the facilities where foreigners, who have the different customs from Japan, can use conveniently. Between Japan and the other countries, there are differences of the system in the facilities and these may frustrate those who have never experienced the system of Japan. Also, not only for the foreigners but also for the people who have disabilities should be able to use the facilities more conveniently without as least as the inconvenience. So, I think that not only for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 but also for improving the infrastructures, Japan should be more passinate to think about the barrier-free systems.

Through these solutions, not only Japanese but also the people from other countries can be more comfortable to stay in Japan and enjoy the Tokyo Olympic in 2020 more!!



【Citation】

• Tokyo 2020 Action and Legacy Plan 2016 Interim Report(Japanese site). (2016, January). Retrieved June 21, 2016, from https://tokyo2020.jp/jp/games/legacy/items/legacy-progressreport.pdf

• S. (2014, October). Japan Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – Infrastructure Briefing. Retrieved July 12, 2016, from http://www.s-ge.com/de/filefield-private/files/167599/field_blog_public_files/64649

 

• 鉄道の車いすスペース増設　東京五輪見据えバリアフリー化加速. (2016, July 12). Retrieved July 12, 2016, from http://www.sankeibiz.jp/business/news/160712/bsd1607120500005-n1.htm
• (This article is written in Japanese.)

 

Q7. Can Japan take strong measures to prevent the terrorism from happening?

The simple answer is: Although the conference regarding to the prevention of the terrorism is ongoing, the ability to oppose the terrorism is not guaranteed in Japan.

These days, the number of the terrorism is increasing since the mid-2000s and some of them are caused by the reason: the Olympics, although most of the places where the Olympic Games are held and also the other international sports festivals, such as the World Cup. According to the Background Report Terrorism and the Olympics written by National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, the most largest number of the terrorism happening when the Olympic was held was seven, in China 2008. In 2008, in China, there were two big terrorisms during the Olympic games held. In addition, the most largest number of those who lost their lives when the Olympic was held was sixteen in West Germany in 1972.On the other hand, in South Korea and Canada in 1988, Japan in 1998, Greece in 2004 and Canada 2010, there were no terrorism.

In terms of Japan, Japan starts to expand the spying in the international range after some Japanese were killed by the Islamic militants last year. Although the conference regarding to the prevention of the terrorism is ongoing, since Japan has never experienced the terrorism happening by the foreigners in the modern society, the solution to prevent the terrorism from happening is unknown range for Japan and most of the Japanese think of the terrorism as the problem which has the distance from us. In addition, what is dangerous for Japan is that because of these reasons, there are a lot of places which is blind for the terrorism and Japan could be the "perfect spots" to do the terrorism. According to Motonobu Abekawa, a former official at the Public Security Intelligence Agency and a terrorism studies expert at Nihon University, he said that  Japan may have made it difficult for Islamic extremists to take root in the country because of its strict gun controls, the importance which is attached to registration, the language barrier and its strict  policy of immigration.

As for the articles, I trust these two articles.
As for the BACKGROUND REPORT Terrorism and the Olympics, this report includes the statistics about the terrorism happening during the Olympic Games and the picked up real cases of the terrorisms and we can see that during the Olympic Games the terrorism increases, although the situations are different from the each Olympics.
In terms of the article "Japan launches anti-terrorism unit ahead of summit, Olympics," we can see Japan working on the anti-terrorism, in spite of the situation which Japan has never experienced such a dangerous situations. In this article, conncection between what the politicians said and the accidents happened last year and we can see the solution to deal with the terrorism very cleary.
That's why I thought that these articles are reliable.

I thought that the connection between the Olympic and the terrorism which contrasts very clearly should be thought of more by the Tokyo Olympic in 2020. During the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 there are more foreigners than normal situations and through this situations there are differences between the languages, customs and the religions. So in order to prevent the terrorism from happening we should think of these differences and we should not do something which despises these differences between us and the others. This process can somewhat prevent the terrorism from happening during the Olympic Games.

【Citation】

• Yamaguchi, M. (2015, December 8). Japan launches anti-terrorism unit ahead of summit, Olympics. Retrieved July 7, 2016, from https://www.yahoo.com/news/japan-launches-anti-terrorism-unit-ahead-summit-olympics-100744296.html?ref=gs

 

• N. (2012, July). BACKGROUND REPORT Terrorism and the Olympics. Retrieved July 7, 2016, from http://www.start.umd.edu/sites/default/files/files/publications/br/TerrorismAndOlympics.pdf

Survey related to the Olympics

Here is a survey for the Tokyo Olympics.
I will appreciate if you have a look at the survey and answer.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TQLXHWF

Q6. Whether the Tokyo Olympic let the foreigners have the good impression of Japan or not

The simple answer is: Although the Tokyo Olympic let the foreigners have not only the good impression of Japan but also the bad impression of Japan, through the Tokyo Olympics Japan can think of the solution to deal with these bad impressions.

This time I am going to write the answer of this topic especially in terms of "Japanese culture."
As we can see, Japan has very particular cultures, such as Anime, Kabuki, the tea ceremony. However, since many people feel awkward to approach these cultures, Japanese themselves do not understand these culture well enough and they can not tell the people in foreign countries such cultures so much. The Olympics game is not only the sports festival but also the cultural festivals so through the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 we can send the Japanese cultures which realize the spirit of "Wa(和)" in Japan and all over the world. In addition, the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games has begun to set up the commission which thinks about the culture and education and set up the basic plan for Tokyo 2020 which unites the project of culture.

Through the Tokyo Olympic in 2020, Japan can send the message to the world, such as the world peace, which means that the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 will be held in summer, when the WWⅡ is associated, the recovery from the Great East Earthquake, which means that Olympic has the role of repaying for kindness of the world and it will make this repaying for kindness of Japan something which is visual and sent it to the world. However, through this process, Japanese should not forget to have the mind not only to appeal the good points of Japan but also to think over their points which they should deal with.

Furthermore, not only in terms of culture but also in terms of tourism, we can see the good impression of Japan by foreigners brought by the Tokyo Olympics. At this time the tourism is one of the industries which support the Japanese economy and  the number of the tourists to Japan will increase by maintaining the facilities in order to let the tourists from other countries stay in Japan comfortably. Also, we should increase the number of foreigners who understand Japan well about not only the culture, tradition, economy but also the solution to deal with the aged society and we should be active in communicating with each country, too.
Through this process, the Tokyo Olympic will let the foreigners have the good impression of Japan.

About the article, I trust the two new articles, one is the proceeding written by The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and another is the article from the Arts Council Tokyo written by Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto, a director of Center for Arts and Culture, NLI Research Institute.
As for the former one, this site is the official page of Tokyo Olympic and in this site, there are a lot of trustworthy opinions which say that the Tokyo Olympic have the good influence on Japan and all over the world in detail, and there is no false opinions.
In terms of the latter one, this site is the official page of the Arts Council Tokyo and this article focuses on the connection between the Tokyo Olympic and Japanese culture. In addition, this site also says the biography of author, so we can see what kind of people wrote thie article and we can trust this resource. Also, this site also has the very detailed information and it says the conncetion between the previous Olympics and the cultural perspective.
That's why I thought that these sites are very reliable.

About this question, I think that through the Tokyo Olympic in 2020, we can show the world Japan itself and its many perspectives whether they are good or bad. Even if there are some bad points which foreigners feel, Japan can think of the solution for these points and as a result, the number of the good points of Japan will increase and it will lead to let the foreigners to have the good impression of Japan. However, not only the self-esteem but also the mind to try to deal with bad points will be needed in order to make Tokyo Olympic in 2020 more meaningful. I thought that Japan has many points which can show the world as the good points and if Japan show the world thise points the impression of Japan will be better than before.
I think that Japan is the culture of modesty so even if there are special good points in Japan, Japanese do not try to spread them to the world, but the Tokyo Olympic will be the good opportunity to show the world these points. So Japan should think of the connection between the Tokyo Olympics and the culture of Japan, and it should see the Tokyo Olympics as the chance to think of its own country and its culture more and more.
That's why I thought that the Tokyo Olympic let the foreigners have the good impression of Japan.




【Citation】

• Tokyo 2020 Action and Legacy Plan 2016 Interim Report(Japanese site). (2016, January). Retrieved June 21, 2016, from https://tokyo2020.jp/jp/games/legacy/items/legacy-progressreport.pdf

• T. (2015, December 4). メディア委員会（2015年12月4日）議事要旨. Retrieved July 5, 2016, from https://tokyo2020.jp/jp/games/legacy/proceeding/20151204-01.html →This site is written in Japanese (There was no English version of this page)

• Yoshimoto, M. (2015, September 24). What can we achieve beyond 2020 with the cultural program? Retrieved July 5, 2016, from https://www.artscouncil-tokyo.jp/en/library/column-interview/8221/