The Tokyo Olympics & Paralympics in 2020: A Stepping Stone to “Amazing Japan”?

Mr. Naoyuki Haraoka's picture

The Japanese economy is struggling hard to escape deflation. This coupled with a shrinking domestic market resulting from depopulation is pushing many Japanese firms to move their facilities overseas, mostly East Asia, in order to gain additional market opportunities. To replace the capital lost to other East Asian countries, Japan needs to attract more inward foreign direct investment (IFDI).

The Japanese government is clearly aware of this as reflected by aspects of “Abenomics” third arrow, which seeks, in part, to create a welcoming environment for IFDI. This growth strategy proposes a wide range of novel measures including “Special Economy Zones” that would offer special tax breaks as well as critical, affordable social infrastructure such as high-quality schools for the children of parents transferred to Japan and English-language hospitals. Many non-Japanese living in Tokyo are skeptical about government promises, since such policies have been repeatedly announced but not implemented. Yet, this time things are different because of the forthcoming 2020 Olympics & Paralympics, which will take place in Tokyo. The Japanese are very conscientious about how they will appear to the rest of the world when the eyes of the world are upon it and will therefore take substantive actions to make a good impression. The 1964 Tokyo Olympics was a clear illustration of this. Indeed, Japan’s economic growth miracle began with the construction of infrastructure relating to the 1964 Olympics. There is a high possibility Japan will embrace the activist spirit of 1964 as well as completely transform its xenophobic mindset into a cosmopolitan one that accommodates a wide range of international actors and activities. To put it simply, you already see a newly emerging mindset in the Japanese sports community, suggesting that the revolution this time will come from the software (mentality) rather than the hardware (physical infrastructure) side.