Japan holds events to mark 2 years to go before Tokyo Olympics

I'm looking forward to September 6 the final day of the Paralympics, i.e. 2 years until it's all over.

The Tokyo Olympic Games of 1964 was the most public viewed in the world thanks technology advanced and it was televised (some colored) every corner of this planet. Japan also had a big impulse from there to be an industrialized and economy the highest level. I hope this time less extravagances and more high tech system to introduce how to reduce power-energy, how to save and economize wastes of outstanding show business, and to focus more this sportive world events for the athletes, and the most, never to be political tool of what happened several times in the past.

This will be one of the last Olympics as the bad publicity from the upcoming heatstroke victims will remain in memory for quite a while. This won't help their image and help their demise as the world cannot afford them and they don't bring any prosperity for a majority of former cities. If the Olympics survives, it will be permanent sites LA for sure, and Paris? or another city. With climate change the Winter games will end and the Summer games ironically will be moved to April or October, which would have prevented the upcoming Tokyo disaster. I don't think they'll be two anymore, just the one. A joint Olympics where those sports that can use an arena will be continued.

For Tokyo 2020 I just hope nobody dies, but given the lack of care and rampant heatstroke even now, it would take a monumental public health educational campaign to change this entirely preventable direction.

They should be running a guessing competition for how many people are gonna die from heat stroke. This summer is an extreme scorcher. If the 2020 summer is the same, hundreds possibly thousands of people are going to die sitting in their ¥15,000 seats watching the athletes die trying.

"On the premise that two years from now will also be boiling hot, we will make our best efforts" 

like what?

Tokyo 2020 will be “best Olympics ever” I am confident. Planning is going smoothly and some venues near completion.No need to worry about heat - this year is a once in 100 years freak heatwave.

Most important question - how many gold do Japan win? 40 or 50 plus? The performances of Japanese athletes will be amazing!!

Most important question - how many gold do Japan win?

A very narrow-minded way of looking at the Olympics. Childish nonsense.

I have such mixed feelings about the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

On the one hand, the '64 Tokyo Summer Olympics and the '72 Sapporo Winter Olympics were such an amazing thing. Wonderful sporting events and something that was used by Japan as part of its leap forward.

For the Japanese that were able to witness these Olympics, it was a time of immense pride and of hope for the future. And both Olympics did a wonderful job of showcasing the bright future of Japan.

However, the upcoming Olympics really seem to be an attempt by the Showa generation to recapture that feeling, in an era where Japan is in a far different place.

Billions upon billions of dollars / yen are being spent for what will benefit very few people. At a time when the aging population is placing huge fiscal demands on the country.

Think of the billions of dollars that are being spent. Now imagine that money being spent to ensure that those without resources have air conditioning if they need it, especially the elderly. Think about what the resources could mean to those in rural Japan.

It is not that there won't be good memories and inspirational moments.

It is just that the money could be better spent on far more worthy and, indeed, life-enhancing, endeavors!

Most important question - how many gold do Japan win? 40 or 50 plus? The performances of Japanese athletes will be amazing!!

Best of luck to the Japanese athletes but let's not get ridiculous. Japan has never won more than 16 golds at a summer games.

@ jc japan - it was just a dream! But UK won 27 golds last time, JOC will set target around 30-35 gold to be realistic. More events to compete in than ever before, that will suit Japan

Ganbare - you're in denial about the heat problem. I've lived in Tokyo for 15 years and there have been 35 degree days with high humidity every summer.

ganbare japan: "@ jc japan - it was just a dream! But UK won 27 golds last time, JOC will set target around 30-35 gold to be realistic. More events to compete in than ever before, that will suit Japan"

Japan ALWAYS sets it's goals unrealistically, so stop jumping the gun. With the exception of the Winter Olympics in SK, where they did better than expected, they have repeatedly had to hold news conférences to apologize and explain why their crazy prédictions of medal counts were not even near close. And if Nothing is done about the heat, and ANY nation wins gold because other nations' représentatives collapsed due to said heat, the event should become null and void. I am sick of the disgusting people who say they "Hope others fail so Japan can get gold", with even some athlètes themselves bragging the summer heat will give Japanese athlètes an advantage. All such people are doing is saying Japan is not skilled enough to win without some kind of handicap.

And this whole "holding an pre-party to mark such and such time before the event" is stupidty that rings through the culture here. Recently they have "half-coming of age day" at Elementary schools, when kids turn 10, and "quarter coming of age days" when kids become five. By all means mark the calendar and count down, but holding a million events before the actual event and marking every single thing as special is the same as making everything a UNESCO heritage site -- nothing is special any longer because it's been so diluted by self-aggrandizing and looking for importance in what is not necessarily there.

The Olympics are going to have many problems, predominantly with the heat, but I predict traffic will be another, and we'll see empty venues because of "reserved seats" not being filled while crowds wait outside the "sold-out" venues. We're going to see continued corruption, bid-rigging, timeline trouble, human trafficking problems, and I have a feeling it won't be long before the "compact games" are suggested to be held from Hokkaido to Okinawa for various events to avoid heat, etc. I Believe that there will be some good takaways, too, but I think we are getting ahead of ourselves by celebrating how great Tokyo and everything is years before the fact. I mean, if they are having two-years to go events, will they also be having 1.5, 1, 6-month, and other events to mark it? There's no need.

It is doubtful that Koike is capable to run the event. Olympics is above her head. Akie is more capable even without cheat. For example, this 2 years marking event should utilize UHD 8k technology which is a symbolic achievement of NHK for the Olympics 2020. Most importantly, this event should be jointly held with South Korea and China, a landmark of consecutive Olympics in Northeast Asia.

Japan ALWAYS sets it's goals unrealistically, so stop jumping the gun. With the exception of the Winter Olympics in SK, where they did better than expected, they have repeatedly had to hold news conférences to apologize and explain why their crazy prédictions of medal counts were not even near close. And if Nothing is done about the heat, and ANY nation wins gold because other nations' représentatives collapsed due to said heat, the event should become null and void. I am sick of the disgusting people who say they "Hope others fail so Japan can get gold", with even some athlètes themselves bragging the summer heat will give Japanese athlètes an advantage. All such people are doing is saying Japan is not skilled enough to win without some kind of handicap.

smithinjapan - you're on form today! The contrast between the good sportsmanship of nearly all Japanese athletes and amateurs playing sport and the ugly self-aggrandising attitude towards sport of Japan's cheerleaers never fails to astonish me.

Let’s ‘brave the heatwave’ by....getting heatstroke?

A very narrow-minded way of looking at the Olympics. Childish nonsense.

Yes, what kind of person focuses on sports at a sporting event? The nerve....

I'm looking forward to September 6 the final day of the Paralympics, i.e. 2 years until it's all over.

Cool, now please tell us the story about how a sporting event has turned your life upside down.

A very narrow-minded way of looking at the Olympics. Childish nonsense.

Yes, what kind of person focuses on sports at a sporting event? The nerve....

Eh? I was talking about people whose main concern is how many medals a country wins.

Strikes me more as mindless jingoism rather than focusing on the sports themselves.

I just hope that all of the stadiums and event areas/building will have been built before the start of the games, in two years time.

I just hope that all of the stadiums and event areas/building will have been built before the start of the games, in two years time.

Yes, they screwed up on getting ready for the Rugby World Cup in time.