As Pandemic Olympics wane, Japan asks: What did Games mean?

TOKYO – Was it the strangest Olympics ever, staged during a deadly pandemic, with nary fans? How astir the angriest, awash successful protests and fierce absorption from ample swaths of the big nation?

The scariest, with fears of caller coronavirus variants and surging cases plaguing Japan— though mostly dodging those successful the Olympic “bubble” — passim the 2 weeks of sports? Or maybe, arsenic athletes banded unneurotic nether moments of aggravated stress, the kindest?

As tens of thousands of athletes, journalists and officials get acceptable to battalion up and permission Monday, Japan volition beryllium near to prime implicit the answers to these questions, possibly for years. Amid the lingering glow from the televised pomp and the indisputable diversion drama, immoderate you telephone these Olympics, it’s worthy stopping to see however Japan sees them.

They were sold, good earlier the pandemic, arsenic the awesome of Japan’s betterment from the demolition of the 2011 tsunami and atomic meltdown. The rhetoric present tends to absorption connected their nexus to the satellite overcoming coronavirus.

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But does that truly enactment successful a state wherever thousands are inactive getting sick each day, fto unsocial successful other, adjacent worse-hit nations that person sent athletes to Tokyo? Many here, portion arrogant that Japan is connected the verge of pulling disconnected what galore thought intolerable or, successful immoderate corners, highly inadvisable, inactive judge these Games were forced connected the state and that their existent cost, perchance successful lives lost, is yet to beryllium paid.

Others are simply relieved they are over. And a ample fig possibly adjacent enjoyed the ride, reveling successful the sports themselves, Japan's amazingly beardown medal haul and the mostly hospitable mode the satellite was welcomed during a play of illness, fearfulness and uncertainty.

Using immoderate of the dozens of interviews conducted during and earlier these delayed and disputed Pandemic Games, The Associated Press takes a look astatine what immoderate Japanese deliberation they mean.

Is it typical of a federation of 126 million? Of people not. But the glimpses into the views of immoderate of the radical who lived done this Olympics connection a accidental to chopped through, successful sometimes astonishing ways, the authorities and IOC rhetoric that emphasized harmony and revitalization, and get a spot person to the bosom of the nation's sentiment.

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THE BEGINNING

It started with a muted opening ceremonial and an bare stadium, with moments truthful quiescent that the shouts of protesters could beryllium heard from the streets outside. Many residents watched with mixed feelings, to accidental the least, isolated from the Games by organizers trying to support the Olympic visitors from mingling with the public, forced to modify their lives during a grounds question of microorganism cases and yet different authorities of emergency.

Many were opposed, and that feeling persisted. But determination was nuance, excessively — a tendency to enactment the country's champion look forward, present that the inevitable was happening, and a conception that this spectacle could enactment arsenic a salve.

“I americium precise affectional and teary-eyed portion watching the TV due to the fact that adjacent during the pandemic, the Olympics volition inactive spell on," Riza Nagumo, 53, a housewife, said. "I was praying truthful overmuch to person this Olympics beryllium a precise palmy event, to heal the world.”

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At a usually bustling intersection successful Tokyo's Shibuya neighborhood, ample screens that usually blast advertisements and amusement tv were switched off. Many bars and restaurants were closed, and nationalist viewing locations crossed Japan were unopen down amid rising infections.

“Everyone is conscionable enduring this,” said Harumi Wada, a Tokyo resident. “But to clasp the Olympics, contempt everything, I consciousness there’s a dissonance, and I deliberation that distrust toward the authorities is getting stronger.”

THE FAMILY

Despite the disruption, delays and disputes of these Games, the prohibition connected spectators and large gatherings proved a astonishing boon for immoderate families.

While it's existent that immoderate bars and restaurants continued to spot drinkers flouting pandemic regularisation rules, adjacent arsenic precocious arsenic Friday night, galore Japanese stayed location with their relatives — and were delighted with the excuse to bash so.

“We are often excessively engaged successful our regular beingness to person this benignant of prime household time,” said Ikuko Tozuka, 53, who gathered with her hubby and 2 big daughters successful beforehand of their TV surface successful Oiso, westbound of Tokyo, to ticker the Games. “So I americium precise blessed that this Olympics has fixed america an accidental to beryllium together.”

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Hiroshi, the father, 58, adjacent bought a caller TV acceptable to ticker the Games with his family.

“It was really bully that this COVID-19 pandemic compelled america arsenic a household to travel unneurotic and ticker the Games successful this way,” said Yu, his 26-year-old daughter.

THE PROTESTERS

Throughout the Games, tiny knots of protesters gathered to supply dependable to what a overmuch larger, mostly soundless chunk of Japan was thinking. They chanted, “Cancel the Olympics.” They carried banners reading, “No Olympics 2020 — Use that wealth for COVID-19” and “Is it much important than quality life?”

Were these precise nationalist demonstrations typical of the full country? It's complicated. Many said successful polls they powerfully opposed the Games; an chartless fig whitethorn person been silently taking a wait-and-see attitude, hoping for the best.

In AP interviews conducted implicit the months betwixt the postponement and the commencement of the Games, determination could beryllium recovered a feeling of resentment that the authorities had pushed up partially due to the fact that of unit from the IOC, which would person faced billions successful mislaid tv rights income without the Games. There was besides fearfulness implicit the Olympics spreading caller strains of the coronavirus. The government’s main aesculapian advisor said it was “abnormal” to clasp the Olympics during a pandemic.

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“It’s unethical to proceed with specified a large event, with much than 10,000 athletes coming to Tokyo, each situated successful 1 area,” said Masa Yamagata, a Tokyo resident. “We can’t bask it anyway. We can’t observe it.”

PAST AS PRESENT

Along with the choler and fear, these Games had a nostalgic constituent for immoderate older Japanese who remembered the Summer Games of 1964, erstwhile Japan celebrated its rebuilding from the warfare and the turbulent years that followed.

Some felt remorse — a consciousness of what mightiness person been — due to the fact that these Games would beryllium truthful overmuch much circumscribed than the past clip they were successful Tokyo.

There was besides gratitude. Thanks to these Games, Seiichi Kuroki, 55, saw his narration with his 85-year-old father, Masatoshi Kuroki, deepen arsenic they talked astir Masatoshi's relation arsenic a marshal astatine the opening ceremonial of the 1964 Olympics.

"I americium precise grateful for that,” Kuroki said. “He looks blessed erstwhile I inquire him questions specified as, ‘What were you doing past astatine the Games?’ Because that is his legacy. ”

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There was a tinge of sorrow, however, for Takemasa Taguchi, arsenic the 83-year-old remembered Tokyo’s celebratory temper successful 1964.

“I americium truthful bittersweet astir this situation,” Taguchi said. “I was hoping that we could person celebrated and danced unneurotic with radical from each implicit the world.”

SOCIAL CHANGE

Some hoped the Games would bring alteration to Japanese society, wherever minorities inactive endure from favoritism and prejudice. Few felt that the Games would lick each of Japan's societal issues: Can an Olympics lawsuit ever unrecorded up to the expectations that are heaped connected it? But with the world's attraction focused connected Japan, immoderate saw question guardant connected the issues they cared about.

Ahead of the Games, Makoto Kikuchi, a 34-year-old nonrecreational boxer, decided to travel retired arsenic a lesbian.

“By speaking openly and becoming 1 of the retired athletes, I hoped to beryllium arsenic adjuvant arsenic imaginable for those who consciousness lonely,” Kikuchi said.

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The Tokyo Games included 179 openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and nonbinary athletes, according to Outsport.com. That's much than 3 times the fig from the 2016 Games successful Rio.

While same-sex marriages are not legally recognized here, Fumino Sugiyama, a transgender activistic and erstwhile fencer connected Japan's women’s nationalist team, said enactment of intersexual diverseness has dilatory grown.

“It is genuinely large that a way has yet been created for athletes to beryllium capable to vie portion being their authentic selves successful sports,” said the 39-year-old, who was nominated to the Japanese Olympic Committee’s committee of directors earlier the Games.

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AP journalists Kwiyeon Ha, Chisato Tanaka, Hiromi Tanoue, Mayuko Ono, Kaori Hitomi, Emily Wang and Haruka Nuga contributed to this story.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.