2021.05.14
カテゴリ：English Editorial
Without the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, I am not sure that just patient days waiting for ending Covid-19 has a light for the future
On May 5, 2021, Washington Post contained the critical articles under the title of “Japan should cut its losses and tell the IOC to take its Olympic pillage somewhere else.”
This article by Sally Jenkins mentions that Von Ripper-off, a.k.a. IOC President Thomas Bach, and his attendants have a bad habit of ruining their hosts, like royals on tour who consume all the wheat sheaves in the province and leave stubble behind.
Is Mr. President Bach Von Ripper-off? We had three Olympic Games such as Sochi 2014, Rio 2016, Pyeongchang 2018 since Mr. Bach took the presidency of the IOC. Sochi produced 6300 million yen and Pyeongchang 6220 million yen approximately as surpluses. The IOC donated 1500 million yen to Rio which had possibility to show a loss.
Therefore, it is not reasonable for Jenkins to say the President Bach is Von Ripper-off.
Even if the withdrawal of Olympic Games Tokyo would bring the big defect and not honorable historical fact to Japan, even if it would take away dreams of more than 12,000 athletes all over the world, Washington Post has none sense of responsibility for these results.
If negative opinions of Tokyo OG would become more and more popular, anxiety and insecurity of Beijing Winter Olympic Games next year might rise increasingly. While US Government insisted on the possible boycott for the Beijing Games because of Human Rights, this article in question could be support to pressure on Chinese Government. I can see the politics over this column.
However, on the contrary, if we, Japanese, would try to handle with Covid-19 and organize to complete the medical cares and health hygiene, these challenges could be a solid basement for us to construct better world even if the Olympic Games could not be implemented finally.
Moreover, we have to understand that we would come to lose many valuables if the Games would be canceled. For example, the cancellation might be claiming the athletes’ lives which have been devoting to hopes of many persons in the world.
Since Washington Post muster public opinion by criticizing President Bach without precise checking in order to steal the scene and to gain worldwide publicity, it seems to be Von Ripper-off, a.k.a. Washington Post.
Ryoichi Kasuga
TV Commentator
P.S. You can read similar article to the above in Japanses here!