Tokyo Olympics 1 year out: Scandal, high costs but unrivaled demand

"Stop whining and be proud that you have the Olympics."

Ahhh because pride makes us feel so warm and fuzzy.

It’s always the same people complaining here as well, if you are scared of the heat, get a fan. The people who are whining are definitely the 90% that did not get a ticket.

So many people whining on here. When London hosted the Olympics it came out of my tax money, i didn’t get to go and it was a great event.

Stop whining and be proud that you have the Olympics.

I just came from the new Tokyo National Stadium. It is awesome. I am glad Tokyo went with Kuma instead Zahid. Tokyo is doing a great job!!!

Definitely a different poster than the one that made this comment:

Things are ticking along nicely for Tokyo 2020, in fact some venues are already completed. The National Stadium is breathtaking. Tokyo 2020 will bring in millions of tourists, and showcase to the world that "Japan is back"!. You simply cant buy that sort of promotion.

Except it is being bought. What are you talking about?

Is cost for these Olympics really up to $20,000,000,000 (US) ? All that and still no tickets!!

Anyone care to deconstruct this:

*Tsunekazu Takeda, the head of the Japanese Olympic Committee, was forced to resign earlier this year when he was implicated in a vote-buying scheme to land the games. *He has denied wrongdoing but acknowledged he signed off on about $2 million that French investigators allege went to buy votes of some IOC members.

What I am reading is something like this. I didn't do anything but gave someone $2 million to do it for me. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this is like hiring someone to commit a crime for you? If so it should make hirer guilty. So if that is the case, why isn't Takeda in a substitute prison?

But perhaps I am hopelessly naive.

The only ones who keep towing the line that the Olympics are a legit enterprise are those who are having their pockets stuffed by all those in need of favors. The selection process is corrupt and pay-to-play. The budgeting is smoke and mirrors. The sponsorships are all bs, too - and even what should be a positive with Tokyo raising 3x the expected sponsorship money, it still won't even come close to covering the costs that skyrocketed post-budget.

I just came from the new Tokyo National Stadium. It is awesome. I am glad Tokyo went with Kuma instead Zahid. Tokyo is doing a great job!!!

The late Zahid's company is still owed money. Will Kuma ever get paid?

The Olympics will be simply a sideshow for some Tokyo visitors, astounded by the cleanliness, courtesy and order.

What a crock! I get queasy just reading this slop. It's already a sideshow and the taxpayer is being treated like a clown. Never thought the people in Shinjuku station had much courtesy or were very orderly but what do I know? I guess they are just going to change overnight when they identify the new gaijin in the area. "You look different. You must be here for the Olympics so I promise to not walk into you or do anything you might find offensive. Please enjoy our wonderful country."

Things are ticking along nicely for Tokyo 2020

Like a timebomb?

This time next year? Wrong time of year, will be too hot and humid. How many athletes and spectators will be affected by heatstroke? How many will die?

But Tokyo is spending at least $20 billion to get ready, 70% of which is taxpayers' money.

So, the taxpayer is spending at least US$14 BILLION.... read my lips.... 14 BILLION DOLLARS to pay for this extravaganza!!

Which will cover the costs of a bunch of J construction companies raking in dollars surely padded to make them fat and rich.

Which will cover the costs of a bunch of fat, rich leeches in government and sport to revel in the luxurious events surrounding the Olympics!!

Which will cover the costs of all of those companies, including Dentsu, that bribed their way into their positions of power just so they can feed at the trough of taxpayers' monies.

What it WON'T cover is:

-- The ongoing costs associated with 3-11 in Tohoku.

-- Anything that will materially benefit the average low income Japanese.

-- Anything that will benefit the elderly pensioners, who sacrificed so much and have NEVER enjoyed a luxurious evening in Ginza!!!!

@Ganbare Japan! - showcase to the world that "Japan is back"!. 

Japan is back? Back from where? If you buy a chocolate from Daiso ¥100 shop and put it in a Mitsukoshi wrapper, it's still a ¥100 chocolate. Japan can showcase the Olympic debacle all they like, but under the wrapper it's still the same corrupt country with a failing economy run by bureaucrats whose only interest is feathering their own nests at the expense of the working class. The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are costing tax payers billions, but it's only the corporations who are benefitting from it while the working class are literally working themselves to death to meet ridiculous deadlines. TIJ!

For me, most (maybe all) of the events I want to see are better suited to watch on TV. No time lag this time around. Wouldn't want to out in the crowds in Japanese summer anyway. Will probably be heading out to the bars in the evenings tho, should be a great time.

Tokyo 2020 will bring in millions of tourists, and showcase to the world that "Japan is back"!.

Back from where? First time to see you admit Tokyo isn’t number one ^_^

Ganbare Japan!Today  09:23 am JST

Things are ticking along nicely for Tokyo 2020, in fact some venues are already completed. The National Stadium is breathtaking. Tokyo 2020 will bring in millions of tourists, and showcase to the world that "Japan is back"!. You simply cant buy that sort of promotion.

You can't buy that Promotion????  Well they did. If you read the article, it says to date at least $20 billion (which of course is a gross understatement) mostly coughed up by taxpayers.

And Dentsu - the All Mighty, All Encompassing, Global Advertising Monolith that really controls the games - has spent Billions to achieve it's Abosolute position.

With Money comes Power and with that little duo you can buy anything you want.

Alfie Noakes link is a must read. The 21st C Coliseum - pageantry, bread and circuses, flesh, sweat and blood, aggrandizement and corporate rights.

 Tokyo 2020 will bring in millions of tourists, and showcase to the world that "Japan is back"!. 

Where did it go?

Things are ticking along nicely for Tokyo 2020, in fact some venues are already completed. The National Stadium is breathtaking. Tokyo 2020 will bring in millions of tourists, and showcase to the world that "Japan is back"!. You simply cant buy that sort of promotion.

What a load of self-satisfying whitewash!

I just came from the new Tokyo National Stadium. It is awesome. I am glad Tokyo went with Kuma instead Zahid. Tokyo is doing a great job!!!

Hosting the Olympic Games is just another measure to reach the target of 40 million foreign tourists annually so from that perspective they will get back their investment and then some but at what cost for the ordinary Japanese citizens ?

‘Cities that bid to host the Olympics should be required to hold a referendum’

thats already being done - Several cities, including Calgary, Rome & Hamburg withdrew their bids due to a public backlash.

the biggest Olympic sponsor is the Japanese government

The biggest Olympic sponsor is the taxpayer. Cities that bid to host the Olympics should be required to hold a referendum.

driven by Japan's giant advertising and marketing company Dentsu Inc., the exclusive marketing agency for the Tokyo Games caught in a French probe into alleged vote-buying connected with Tokyo winning the 2020 Olympics.

Why isn't the Japanese side investigating? Oh, right . . . Dentsu.

"We have seen some scandals in sports, including the JOC. And therefore the trust and confidence is now in question. We have to grapple with these issues very seriously."

i.e. "We have to cover our tracks more carefully from now on."

Never underestimate home field advantage on the psyche.

Yeah, I’d factored that in a bit. Maybe 16 is a bit low. They got 12 in Rio, it’s a big ask to more than double that. The Russians will be back too, and you can bet that China & SK will be looking to rip open a few gomi bags too.

Anyone who is interested in the Olympics should read Celebration Capitalism and the Olympic Games by Jules Boykoff. Mr. Boykoff is a former professional soccer player turned academic and university professor:

https://www.amazon.com/Celebration-Capitalism-Olympic-Routledge-Critical/dp/1138805262

"Placing political economy at the center of the analysis, and drawing on interdisciplinary research in sociology, politics, geography, history, and economics, Boykoff develops an innovative theory of "celebration capitalism", the manipulation of state actors as partners that drives us towards public–private partnerships in which the public pays and the private profits. He argues that the Athens Games in 2004 marked the full emergence of celebration capitalism, with London 2012 representing its quintessential expression, characterized by a state of exception, unfettered commercialism, repression of dissent, questionable sustainability claims, and the complicity of the mainstream media."

https://www.routledge.com/Celebration-Capitalism-and-the-Olympic-Games/Boykoff/p/book/9780415821971

Anything written by Mr. Boykoff is highly reccomended.

http://julesboykoff.org/

"1 year out"

They had better make this 1 year and 3 months out or it's gonna be a sweaty disaster.

My wife and I both applied separately for tickets and only I got 1 ticket for mountain biking way down in Izu. My sister applied in the US and got 7 tickets, but prices were 30 percent higher than ours. I suppose @kurisupisu is right. I wonder what percent of those "high demand" tickets were set aside for private tour companies and for company execs to have vs private individuals like us?

@oldman_13

Name one international organization that isn’t corrupt.

The number one reason tickets tend to sell out is because of ticket scalpers. They buy a large amount of tickets so they can resell them at a huge premium.

@Clippetyclop

Never underestimate home field advantage on the psyche.

"the "measured demeanor" of the Japanese hides their Olympic enthusiasm."

how can you tell the difference between 'hidden enthusiasm' and 'lack of enthusiasm'.... I wonder....

Japan could do well in the medal stakes particularly since baseball and softball are back in karate is making its debut.

@chipstar

that is the exact reason why I’ve lost all interest in the summer Olympic Games.

I'm predicting another Olympics dominated by American athletes and athletes that live and train in the US but somehow represent other countries.

If the money is available then certain private companies will be able sell you any ticket you want.

Japan is shooting for a record 30 gold medals

Dream on. 16 at best I reckon

Funny how the world still blindly follows the corrupt IOC and the Olympics.

Another advertising plug to continue the image of a "clean, safe, and orderly" Japan!