{"id":13916,"date":"2016-04-05T14:17:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-06T00:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=13916"},"modified":"2016-04-05T14:18:37","modified_gmt":"2016-04-06T00:18:37","slug":"jt-interview-tokyo-2020-olympics-ceo-mutou-picks-on-rio-2016-arrogantly-cites-safe-japan-mantra-vs-international-terrorism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=13916","title":{"rendered":"JT Interview: Tokyo 2020 Olympics CEO Mutou picks on Rio 2016, arrogantly cites “safe Japan” mantra vs international terrorism"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hi Blog. Once again hosting an international event brings out the worst excesses of Japan’s attitudes towards the outside world<\/a>. Mutou Toshio, CEO of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and a former deputy governor of the Bank of Japan, talked to The Japan Times about Japan’s superiority to Rio 2016 in broad, arrogant strokes.<\/p>\n

Article at: http:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/news\/2016\/04\/04\/national\/2020-tokyo-olympics-ceo-weighs-security-differences-rio\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Some highlights:<\/p>\n

==========================<\/p>\n

The CEO of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics says security is his greatest concern but believes Japan will be safe from the kind of mass street protests currently overshadowing this summer\u2019s Rio de Janeiro Games.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIf I had to choose just one challenge from many it would have to be security,\u201d Toshiro Muto told The Japan Times in an exclusive interview. \u201cThere are many threats of terrorism in the world. […] To combat this, the organizing committee, Tokyo Metropolitan Government and national government need to be able to deal with it at every level. Cooperation is vital.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

==========================<\/p>\n

Yes, we’ve seen what happens when Japan’s police “cooperate” to\u00a0ensure Japan is “secure” from the outside world whenever it comes for a visit. Many times. \u00a0Consider whenever a G8 Summit is held in Japan, Japan spends the Lion’s Share (far more than half the budget) on policing alone<\/a>, far more than any other G8 Summit host. Same with, for example, the 2002 World Cup<\/a>. \u00a0The government also quickly\u00a0abrogates civil liberties for its citizens and residents<\/a>, and turns Japan\u00a0into a temporary police state<\/a>. (See also “Embedded Racism” Ch. 5, particularly pp. 148-52<\/a>). I anticipate the same happening for 2020, with relish.<\/p>\n

But Mutou goes beyond mere boosterism to really earn\u00a0his paycheck with arrogance, elevating\u00a0Japan by bashing current hosts Rio. \u00a0(Much like Tokyo Governor Inose Naoki, himself since unseated due to corruption<\/a>, did in 2013 when denigrating\u00a0Olympic rival hosts Istanbul as “Islamic”.<\/a>) \u00a0Check this out:<\/p>\n

==========================<\/p>\n

The Olympics have proved to be a lightning rod for demonstrations in recession-hit Brazil, with many people angry at the billions of public dollars being spent on the event.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But Muto, a former deputy governor of the Bank of Japan, is confident that Tokyo can avoid similar scenes despite public concern over the cost of hosting the Olympics.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe demonstrations in Brazil are down to the fact that the economy is in great difficulty and the government is in trouble,\u201d he said. \u201cAt times like that, there are bigger things to think about than a sports festival.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that kind of problem will occur in Japan. Of course you never know what will happen, but I think the environment in Brazil and Tokyo is completely different.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

==========================<\/p>\n

Yes, unlike that country with its beleaguered economy and unruly population, Japan’s economy is doing so well<\/a>. It is, after all, the only developed country whose economy SHRANK between 1993 and 2011 (Sources: IMF; “Embedded Racism<\/a>” p. 291). Like Mutou says, there ARE bigger things to think about than a sports festival. Like, for example, regional assistance for the recovery from the triple disasters of 2011?<\/p>\n

On that point, Mutou begins “talking up the yen” in terms of the potential economic impact of the 2020 Olympics:<\/p>\n

==========================<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at it in isolation, labor costs have started to rise recently and I understand that could have a negative effect on recovery,\u201d Muto said. \u201cBut I think a successful Olympics will help people in the affected areas.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cUntil very recently, there were around 8 million foreign tourists visiting Japan a year. In 2015 it rose to almost 20 million. The government thinks around 40 million tourists will visit in 2020. Those people will not only visit Tokyo but places all around the country. In the areas affected by the disaster there are various tourist spots, so it should have a beneficial effect.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

==========================<\/p>\n

Yes, I’m sure people will be flocking to Fukushima and environs to see the tens of thousands of people still living in temporary housing<\/a> more than five years after the disasters.<\/p>\n

Finally, the article concludes with a word salad of slogans from Mutou:<\/p>\n

==========================<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the future, if the Olympics cost huge sums of money to stage, it will place a big burden on the people of that country. If that happens, more and more people will speak out against it. It\u2019s not appropriate to have an extravagant Olympics. If it\u2019s an Olympics that avoids wasting money, then I believe it can contribute toward peace.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

==========================<\/p>\n

Given that even the JT article acknowledges the Olympian waste of money by reporting: “[T]he games have nonetheless been accused of gobbling up public funds and slowing the pace of recovery in the areas affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. […] French prosecutors investigating corruption allegations into the former head of world athletics last month expanded their probe to examine the bidding for Tokyo 2020,”<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0it’s a bit rich for Mutou to conclude with yet another pat “peace” mantra, while ignoring his previous sentences on the burdens being put on the people of that country.<\/p>\n

May the French prosecutors\u00a0uncover something untoward and finally get this society-destroying jingoistic nonsense to stop. \u00a0Dr. ARUDOU, Debito<\/p>\n

Full article at:
\nhttp:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/news\/2016\/04\/04\/national\/2020-tokyo-olympics-ceo-weighs-security-differences-rio\/<\/a><\/p>\n

===============<\/em><\/p>\n

Do you like what you read on Debito.org? \u00a0Want to help keep the archive active and support Debito.org’s activities? \u00a0We are celebrating Debito.org’s 20th Anniversary in 2016, so please consider donating a little something. \u00a0More details here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Once again hosting an international event brings out the worst excesses of Japan’s attitudes towards the outside world. Mutou Toshio, CEO of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and a former deputy governor of the Bank of Japan, talked to The Japan Times about Japan’s superiority to Rio 2016 in broad, arrogant strokes. Some highlights:<\/p>\n

==========================
\nThe CEO of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics says security is his greatest concern but believes Japan will be safe from the kind of mass street protests currently overshadowing this summer\u2019s Rio de Janeiro Games.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I had to choose just one challenge from many it would have to be security,\u201d Toshiro Muto told The Japan Times in an exclusive interview. \u201cThere are many threats of terrorism in the world. […] To combat this, the organizing committee, Tokyo Metropolitan Government and national government need to be able to deal with it at every level. Cooperation is vital.\u201d
\n==========================<\/p>\n

COMMENT: Yes, we’ve seen what happens when Japan’s police “cooperate” to ensure Japan is “secure” from the outside world whenever it comes for a visit. Many times. Consider whenever a G8 Summit is held in Japan, Japan spends the Lion’s Share (far more than half the budget) on policing alone, far more than any other G8 Summit host. Same with, for example, the 2002 World Cup. The government also quickly abrogates civil liberties for its citizens and residents, and turns Japan into a temporary police state. (See also “Embedded Racism” Ch. 5, particularly pp. 148-52). I anticipate the same happening for 2020, with relish.<\/p>\n

But Mutou goes beyond mere boosterism to really earn his paycheck with arrogance, elevating Japan by bashing current hosts Rio. (Much like Tokyo Governor Inose Naoki, himself since unseated due to corruption, did in 2013 when denigrating Olympic rival hosts Istanbul as “Islamic”.) Check this out:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,36,52,20,5,26,4,17,55,53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-embedded-racism","category-bad-social-science","category-hate-speech","category-history","category-human-rights","category-ironies-hypocrisies","category-japanese-government","category-sport","category-tourism","category-unsustainable-japanese-society"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13916\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}