Japan Now! No.3-東京オリンピック2020（2021）の開幕と日本における終わりの見えないコロナウイルスとの闘い-－2020（2021）Tokyo Olympic Gamesa and Fighting the endless coronavirus in Japan（July 22, 2021)

Wednesday, July 22, 2021

I have nothing to do and I am completely free, so I sit at my desk all day and write down the ramblings that come to my mind. Then I feel obsessed with something, which is very strange and unexplainable.

In Japan and the world where the coronavirus is widespread, it is required to refrain from activities, and it is difficult to move freely to other places and to have close contact with other people.

On the other hand, I have a bold ambition to record the facts that are happening in Japan and send them to the world in English with my poor impressions.

Of course, what is written here is just a personal impression at the time. Also, I am not always fluent in English. I think there are many points where words are lacking, but please forgive me.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is an Olympic Games scheduled to be held in Tokyo, Japan for 17 days from July 23 to August 8, 2021. Due to the worldwide epidemic of the new coronavirus infection, it has been postponed for one year from the schedule for the summer of 2020. The year of the event will change due to the postponement of the Games, but the name of "Tokyo 2020" will not change. And The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will be held in Tokyo, Japan for 13 days from August 24th to September 5th, 2021.

Women's softball and other games have already started on Wednesday, July 21, prior to the start of the Olympic Games. Looking at the hot battles of the first match of the women's softball team and women's soccer team representing Japan, I think again that the Olympic Games are a wonderful and moving event.

On the other hand, what is very worrisome is the turmoil just before the opening of the Olympic Games and the spread of coronavirus infection in Japan and around the world. It is not always unpredictable what will happen to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the future, but I just hope that the celebration of peace will end safely with the excitement of Japan and the world.

Saturday, July 24, 2021

The opening ceremony of the 32nd Olympic Games Tokyo, which was extended for the first time in history due to the spread of the new coronavirus, was held at the national stadium from 8 pm on the 23rd.

There were various twists and turns and confusion in Japan before the opening ceremony, but anyway, we were able to finish the opening ceremony safely. Approximately 11,000 athletes from 205 countries, regions and refugee teams will participate. In the midst of the many difficulties that people around the world are currently experiencing, I hope that this festival of sports and peace in Japan will give people all over the world the hope of living.

In Japan, there were opinions such as cancellation of the opening ceremony and thorough simplification, and there were various opinions about the quality of the contents of the opening ceremony program. However, athletes from all over the world actually gathered in one place in Tokyo and were able to meet each other. And we can tell the world from Japan that the world is rich in diversity and that it is important for people all over the world to be more peaceful and safer, and to be physically and spiritually rich. I think that's great.

The Tokyo Games will be held for 17 days until the closing ceremony on Sunday, August 8. Summer in Tokyo is extremely hot and humid, making it completely unsuitable for outdoor sports competitions. The number of people infected with the new coronavirus is also increasing. I don't know what kind of evaluation this Tokyo Games will have in the future, but I just hope that the athletes and the people involved will do well and be safe. I support the players and the people involved from the other side of the TV.

Monday, August 9　

Closing of the Tokyo Olympic Games (Sunday, August 8) -Thanks to all the athletes and participants for the best performance and great excitement.

The closing ceremony of the 32nd Olympic Games Tokyo was held at the National Stadium on the 8th. Due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, it was postponed for one year, and most of the venues became unattended, making it an exceptional tournament.

It is a sports competition held in the midsummer season, which is the most unsuitable for sports in Japan, such as intense heat and humidity, typhoons and torrential rains. The athletes were worried about whether they would be able to perform well and whether the competition would be smooth.

However, these worries seem to have ended in needless fears. In all the competitions, the athletes were able to see each other seriously competing and recognizing each other regardless of nationality or race. Japanese athletes also worked very hard and were able to win the highest number of medals in the history of the Japanese Olympics. The audience rating of the TV that aired the competition was also high, and the Japanese people's interest in the Olympic Games was higher than expected.

Certainly Typhoon No. 8 （台風８号）approached the surfing venue, which affected the surfing competition. I think the big waves made the surfing competition more dynamic. Thank you to all the surfers and everyone involved.

At this competition, about 43,000 athletes and related persons from overseas visited Japan. Unfortunately, due to the rapid spread of corona infection, the athletes could hardly interact with the Japanese, and the athletes could not see the historic sites of Japan. It seems that there were not enough opportunities for athletes and others to come into contact with "hospitality" by ordinary Japanese people. When the corona infection is over, I would like you to come back to Japan and spend your time in Japan.

At the end of the closing ceremony, the torch was delivered by actress Shinobu Otake （大竹しのぶ）and some children. She sang " STAR-CIRCLING SONG " （「星巡りの歌」）with her children, and the music of "Moonlight" by the famous French composer Debussy was played. After that, the movement of Otake and the children's hands quietly closed the spherical torch stand and extinguished the fire. I was very impressed with the " STAR-CIRCLING SONG "written by Kenji Miyazawa (宮沢賢治　1896-1933) from the Tohoku region.

This song sang a quiet, beautiful, fantastic night starry sky, and seemed to pass on the peaceful and calm night world from adults to children. This song also contrasts the vast and infinite time of the universe with the small and ephemeral human beings. On the other hand, the song seems to say that anyone, along with our ancestors and descendants, can become one with the endless universe, both spatially and temporally.

STAR-CIRCLING SONG

Lyric & Music by Kenji Miyazawa（宮沢賢治　作詞作曲）
Translated into English by Rokuro Hiraka （平賀六郎氏　英訳）

1　 Oh see the red-eyed Scorpion
And the widely-spread wings of the Eagle.
Oh see the blue-eyed Little Dog
And the coiled up Snake burning bright.
Orion singing from so far away
Shines cold dropping the dew and the frost.

2 The cloud of Andromeda so far away
Looks like the mouth of a fish on the earth.
And to the north of the Great Bear's Paw
Five times the distance of this length;
Upon the forehead of the Little Bear
Shines the lodestar, our guide to the sky.