The City of Tokyo: From 1964 to 2020

• In Event: Moving Forward?: A Critical Examination of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements in Japan

Abstract

The structural changes and infrastructural improvements carried out in Tokyo in preparation for the 1964 Olympic and Paralympic Games demonstrated to both Japanese citizens and millions of spectators around the globe that Japan was experiencing remarkable economic growth. With 97% of the Olympic budget earmarked for improvements to infrastructure, the “development” that occurred in Tokyo resulted from an excessively centralized political and economic organizing structure. Looking at the bidding processes that Japan underwent in connection with the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, it is apparent that various aspects of sports in 21st-century Japan are still closely tied to politics in Japan: from problems surrounding sports legacies and appropriate memorialization to concerns about the amount of government spending diverted to sports-related projects. The Sports Promotion Act, enacted in 1961 and revised 50 years later, indicated that sports in Japan were to be regarded as “national strategies.” The revised act became the basis for specifying governmental support in the hosting of international sporting events. The time has come to seriously consider the necessity of ‘developmentalism’ in Tokyo. With still-functioning sports venues being torn town or passed over in favor of brand new, high-cost facilities, the public has actively begun to demand accountability for these costly changes. This presentation will describe specific changes in Japanese citizens’ thoughts about local areas, such as the Tokyo Bay waterfront, that are in the process of becoming new venues for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Author

• Satoshi Shimizu, University of Tsukuba