Originally, the Olympic Games were supposed to promote Japan's standing in various fields. In light of its many problems exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, however, the standing of both the country and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party could find themselves damaged. Still, the world is poised to once again be exposed to the Japanese modernity of the Land of the Rising Sun, which was and remains a very modern state.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
The first time the world was exposed to Japan was the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, the first Olympics to ever be held on Asian soil, and as such a huge achievement for Japan. The world saw the country as super modern, whose organization stood out from afar. Japan was proud when, for the first time since World War II, it transformed its national image from one of an almost backward Asian state to global power. The Olympics gave Japan a huge economic boost.
Over two decades earlier, the 1940 Olympics were supposed to have been held in Tokyo, just four years after the 1936 Berlin Olympics and their repercussions for Nazi propaganda, and were to have been of not just athletic but political significance for the country. However, the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 put a hamper on those plans: Japan's status declined in global opinion, and the Japanese themselves rescinded their candidacy in 1939 due to sharp domestic criticism of the country hosting the games while the Japanese were being killed in China.
Ahead of this year's Olympics, the government invested large sums of money for Japan to be selected by the International Olympic Committee, in the belief that this would pull the country out of its economic crisis and renew its global status, as it did in 1964. The move was also aimed at improving morale by overcoming a recession largely the result of Japanese citizens having ceased to buy industrial products and decreased Japanese exports due to competition from South Korea and China.
Even before the pandemic struck, the Japanese public did not believe the Olympics would create a new psychological-economic reality. When COVID-19 entered the scene, it delivered a serious blow to the Japanese government's aspirations of using the Olympics as one great economic springboard both within the country and overseas. From an international perspective, many feared that if the Olympics proved to be a failure they could wind up doing the country damage.
Yet the government hoped the Japanese sense of efficiency and diligence would prevail, benefiting the state on a domestic societal level. The fact that the country does not have enough coronavirus vaccines to inoculate a majority of the public certainly has not helped instill a sense of calm in the atmosphere in the weeks and months leading up to the opening of the multi-disciplinary athletic competition.
From an international perspective, the Olympics are unlikely to promote Japan's standing compared to its direct rivals South Korea and China. From a different perspective, if we look for an upside, we can find one at the baseline: If Japan nevertheless succeeds in overcoming the coronavirus, vaccinating its population alongside the Games and presenting Japanese modernity to the world, they could be remembered as the kind of positive turning point Japan has been hoping for.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
