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© KYODOTokyo can learn from Pyeongchang's weather, transport tests
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
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Yubaru
Here? In Japan? Good luck with this, I will believe it when I see it.
It took well over 2 decades to get out of the funk from the bubble bursting, and still too many are behind the times in "willingness to learn" BECAUSE they are unable to listen!
And these games are in 2 years? Right, we'll see!
MarkX
Still cannot understand why they insisted on holding the games in July and August? Why not in September/October? It would be much more comfortable, with far less risk for either athletes or spectators. It's the Olympics, people will travel and watch at anytime of the year, so holding them in the summer isn't going to help the chance of bringing in more people.
apeman
The games are held in July-August because US television network NBC pays a huge amount of money to broadcast them and can dictate when they are held. September-October would interfere with ratings for popular US sports such as baseball, pro football, and college football.
serendipitous1
Tokyo Olympics 1964 were held in October. 2020 at the end of July and beginning of August (the hottest time of the year). Any outdoor sports at such a high level in that heat would be dangerous, let alone a marathon. Think it'll be a TV Olympics for me.
sf2k
with humidity July/Aug is going to be brutal . I recall that Atlanta had mist stations so I wonder if anything is planned for Tokyo to alleviate the heat?
dcog9065
Yeah it's gonna be pretty damn uncomfortable in the middle of Summer in Tokyo. I'm not sure how often events can be rescheduled either. The athletes will just have to tough it out
smithinjapan
"You need to be willing to learn, to be able to pay attention."
Yeah, but this is Japan, so you won't have either. They could have "learned" ages ago that summer is far too hot here, and from the thousands of heatstroke admittances to hospitals EVERY year, that they should not listen to money interests (baseball and television) and put the health of the athletes first by not having in mid-summer. But nope. Nor will they "pay attention" and change or adjust the dates. They'll just do as always, and talk about it, worry, finally realize it was a bad idea (like with tearing down the old stadium despite EVERYONE saying they shouldn't), and then say you're attacking Japan when athletes start dropping from the heat. Japan won't "learn" until it's over and done with, and then they'll never admit to anything having been wrong.
Pukey2
Keyword: flexibility? Not here, it ain't!
Civitas Sine Suffragio
Giving this a wide berth, the whole thing is an expensive, corrupt farce.
Nick in Japan
ROFLMAO ... Tokyo can learn from Pyeongchang's weather, transport tests
Yeah right good luck with that, the Japanese are more stubborn then I am. Anyway, Drs have said I can go home this afternoon, so this is my last post, enjoy your time in Japan if you are here, and only take away good memories of my country. Peace to All. Bye!!
Luddite
Good luck with the transportation. London did it by encouraging Londoners to take annual leave during the Games, which many did. It left roads and the Tube much less crowded for visitors, officials and athletes and enabled Londoners to attend the Games or sit and watch it at home.
The problem is in Japan no one takes all their leave or they all, ridiculously, take it at the same time.
Badge213
Apples and oranges. The Summer Olympics usually have 4.7x the number of sporting events and 3x the number of events.
Jimizo
Encourage the Pachinko parlours and real estate developers to hand out those plastic fans outside the venues.
Failing that, carry on as usual and just throw another shedload of cash at it and see what happens
runner3
I've been to Japan 10 times but only once in the summer, hated it. Spring and fall fantastic, why not have the games in October? I would love to see the 2020 Olympics but not too sure if I can deal with the heat!
Mocheake
Azrul Hakim
Not too worried about Japan's handling of major international events, if not they are one of the most predictable, safe and reliable hosts of any major sporting events. Well, people says bad thing about Rio, but during the games it went smoothly without any major hiccups (post-olympics is a different story though)
zones2surf
And that, right there, sums up the problem.
This gem is from the CEO of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee.
Tokyo bid on these games how many years ago?!? Did the date of the games magically change since then?! Did the weather in Tokyo magically change?!
So, these geniuses bid on the games knowing the summer heat issues, and have had the intervening years to contemplate how to address the summer heat issues. Right?!?!
And yet what we get from the organizing committee CEO 2 years away from the event is "we really need to think about this"!!!
Ya think?!!!
smithinjapan
runner3: "Spring and fall fantastic, why not have the games in October?"
The original Tokyo Olympics were held in October way back when, and hence "Sports and Health Day" the second Monday of every October (originally October 10th, to commemorate the Games). Why they chose July this time instead of October to start is simple: The National Baseball League was concerned the Olympics would destroy broadcast and ratings for the Japan Series, so they demanded it be held earlier, and of course the JOC, in its infinite wisdom, agreed. Now suddenly they are "concerned". Because they are are complete morons.
smartacus
I don't think the timing has anything to do with baseball. I think the first two weeks of September would have been better in terms of weather, but those people saying October are forgetting that the Paralympics have to begin two weeks after the Olympics end. That would mean November, which is too cold for a "summer" Games. It's also too close to the end of year.
Of course, the 1964 Tokyo Paralympics did start on Nov 8, but I think it must have been cold.
lostrune2
That led to a lot of empty seats - apparently many with tickets didn't show up
There'll always be unwanted issues, like the strong cold winds that first week in Pyeongchang that postponed outdoor events, so have contingency plans and maybe at times think outside the box for creative solutions
Also, prepare for hackers:
"Russia Apparently Hacked The Olympics & Tried To Make It Look Like North Korea"
https://www.bustle.com/p/russia-apparently-hacked-the-olympics-tried-to-make-it-look-like-north-korea-8322733