‘Safe pair of hands’ Tokyo to host 2020 Olympics

Tokyo was selected on Saturday to host the 2020 Summer Olympics in what was considered a safe rather than transformative choice in a time of political and economic uncertainty around the globe.

After Japan’s prime minister gave an emphatic assurance of safety regarding the country’s 2011 nuclear disaster and ongoing concerns about radioactivity, Tokyo easily defeated Istanbul and Madrid to be named host of the summer games for a second time. “When I heard the name Tokyo, I was so touched, overwhelmed,” said Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe. “The joy was even greater than when I won my own election.”

The decision was met with elation in Japan, where it was seen as a vote of international support for the nation’s efforts to pull itself out of a long economic and political decline, and to overcome the devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident two years ago.

Securing the Games also appeared to affirm Abe’s efforts to restore Japan’s confidence at a time when it has appeared increasingly eclipsed by neighbouring China. “Japan has seemed to be overshadowed by the rise of China and other developing nations,” said Harumi Arima, an independent political analyst. “These Olympics will give Japanese a chance to feel reborn.”

For the International Olympic Committee (IOC), environmental concerns in Japan appeared less urgent than the Syrian war on Turkey's border, a recent harsh crackdown against anti-government protesters in Istanbul and Spain's economic recession and unemployment.

The Olympic movement also has been buffeted by protests in Brazil over heavy government spending for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro. And there has been a backlash in the west against anti-gay legislation passed in Russia ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, a Games that will come with a €38 billion price tag.

Calm harbour
Amid such economic, political and human rights maelstroms, Tokyo was seen as a calm harbour. It won handily over Istanbul in the second round of voting by 60-36 in a secret ballot of Olympic delegates. Tokyo presented its bid as a "safe pair of hands," an appeal that clearly resonated with Olympic officials. "This is something that appeals to me as a surgeon," said Jacques Rogge, president of the Olympic committee and a retired orthopedist from Belgium, who did not vote on Saturday, as is tradition.

Tokyo hosted the 1964 Olympics, and Japan has twice hosted the Winter Games, in Sapporo in 1972 and in Nagano in 1998. Japan also co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with South Korea, repeatedly showing it can organise the world's largest sporting events. It already has a reserve fund worth €3.4 billion in the bank to build stadiums for the 2020 games. Though Istanbul did better than many expected in finishing second to Tokyo, the Turkish metropolis lost a sixth attempt to host the Games. They would have been the first held in a predominantly Muslim country.

Some IOC delegates had expressed reluctance trying to forecast Turkey’s political situation seven years from now, given regional instability, what some critics in the country call the autocratic governing style of prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a divide between secularists and Islamists.

Madrid was considered to be making a late charge, but ultimately it was the first city eliminated, failing for a third consecutive time to be named host of the Games. Apparently, Madrid was unable to allay concerns by the Olympic committee it could stage a successful Games even at a relatively low cost in a climate of recession and high unemployment that has left half of Spain’s young without jobs.

Final pitches
During Saturday's final pitches to the Olympic committee, Madrid and Istanbul also faced pointed questions about their countries' poor records in combating doping. Tokyo noted that no Japanese athlete had ever tested positive for banned substances at the Olympics.

As Tokyo made its final presentation, Abe addressed the issue of the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, which is about 150 miles from Tokyo. It is considered the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. “Let me assure you the situation is under control,” he said. “It has never done and will never do any damage to Tokyo.” Gerhard Heiberg, an IOC delegate from Norway, asked Abe how he could make such guarantees. The PM replied there were no health-related problems linked to the nuclear disaster, “nor will there be in the future”.

The Japanese government has pledged nearly €380 million to stabilise the stricken plant, including the building of a frozen wall to curb the flow of groundwater into the contaminated buildings at the reactor site. Some critics have accused Japanese leaders of being misleading or in denial about the severity of the radiation problem. South Korea has banned fish imports from the Fukushima area. But Olympic delegates were sufficiently convinced that the disaster would not hinder the 2020 games.

Some analysts said they hoped securing the 2020 Olympics would give Tokyo the same sort of economic boost, and rebirth in spirit, that the city experienced the last time it hosted the summer games, in 1964. Wrestling reclaimed its spot in the 2020 Games after beating bids from squash and baseball/softball in an IOC vote.
New York Times