With the opening ceremony set for Friday, July 23, the Tokyo Olympics are officially a go after a year of delays due to COVID-19. So now you can sit back, relax and enjoy the Summer Games. NBC is planning to air and stream 7,000 hours of live events, including highlights for its primetime broadcast each evening.
Maybe there’s even room for a history lesson or two.
While the Games date back to Ancient Greece, this year’s host site is equally rich in history.
“Japan is a country that offers so much history, culture, natural resources and beautiful geography,” said Kumiko Hirano Gahan, a lecturer of Japanese in ASU’s School of International Letters and Cultures. “The country also has a great spirit and as hosts, they always want visitors to have a great time and take the time to understand Japan.”
The country is spending $20 billion to host the Games, which will be spread across several cities and 42 venues. The Japanese prime minister has banned spectators from the sporting events to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection. He believes, however, the country will still benefit from the international exposure.
Here are five things to look for while watching the 2021 Summer Olympics, according to Hirano Gahan:
1. Marathon shares locale with Indigenous group
This year’s marathon was moved to Sapporo on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido to avoid Tokyo’s intense heat and humidity. The island is near Siberia and home of the Ainu, an Eastern Asian race of people who preceded the Japanese. They have abundant hair, tattoo their mouths and speak an entirely different language, though that native language is diminishing. Officials estimate their total population to be around 25,000 people. In 2008, the Japanese government officially recognized them as Indigenous to Hokkaido.
2. Baseball, softball spotlight disaster recovery
Fukushima will play host to Olympic baseball and softball matches and was specifically chosen to showcase that it has recovered from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and the Daiichi nuclear disaster, which also occurred in 2011. Any bragging rights that the area was fully recovered were pushed to the wayside with the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. The multipurpose Fukushima Azuma stadium, which seats approximately 30,000, will not have any spectators on hand as Japan has banned all spectators from watching the Games, something that has not gone over well with Japanese residents, Gahan said.
3. Chiba introduces you to goalball
With the exception of Tokyo Disneyland and Narita Airport, Japanese residents say there isn’t much to do in Chiba. But that isn’t entirely true for the next two weeks as it will play host to a variety of Olympic events. They include fencing, surfing, taekwondo, wrestling and volleyball. The city will also host the Paralympic sport goalball, which is contested by visually impaired competitors. Teams of three attack on the court by rolling, bouncing and throwing a 1.25-kilogram ball with a bell inside, into the opposing team's goal. They compete over two 12-minute halves. The defenders listen to the sound of the bell and the movements of their opponents, and defend using their whole bodies. Watch a clip of goalball.
4. Live again at Budokan
The Nippon Budokan in Tokyo is an 11,000-seat arena known as the spiritual home of Japanese martial arts. The facility was built in 1964 where judo made its debut as an Olympic sport. Two years later the Beatles appeared at the venue in late June and early July 1966. They were paid $500,000 for five performances, and tickets were twice the going rate of any other pop act at the time. Their appearance was met with criticism from ultranationalists, who said the venue was strictly reserved for the martial arts. This created controversy, and approximately 35,000 police officers were utilized to ensure the band's safety. Watch a clip of the performance.
The Rockford, Illinois-based band Cheap Trick had released a series of critically acclaimed albums but was about $1 million in debt. That all changed when they recorded their 10-track live album “Cheap Trick at Budokan” in 1978. The album contained the hit single "I Want You to Want Me" and kick-started their career. It has sold more than 3 million copies to date.
5. Bikes in the shadow of Fuji
The road cycling event won’t take place on the open road, but on a race track. Fuji International Speedway in Oyama is the closest circuit to Greater Tokyo, which is about a three-hour drive. Oyama is in the Shizouka Prefecture, home to Mount Fuji, which stands just over 12,300 feet — the tallest peak in the country. The summit, which is still an active volcano, was forbidden to women until the late 1860s. Today it is an international tourist destination and mountain-climbing hot spot. A well-known Japanese proverb states that a wise man will climb the cone-like structure once in their lifetime, but only a fool would climb it twice.
Top photo: Mount Fuji in Japan is the tallest mountain in the country. It's also near the host site of an Olympic event in 2021. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com.
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