East Asia Forum Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific https://www.eastasiaforum.org Can sporting mega-events bring change to Japan? 25th April, 2019 Author: Helen Macnaughtan, SOAS University of London Japan will host the Rugby World Cup (RWC2019) this year, the first Asian nation to do so in the competition’s history. Next year, Japan hosts the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo2020) for the second time, after also being the first Asian hosts of the event in 1964. Reflecting on the legacy of Tokyo 1964 reveals the potential impact these upcoming sports mega-events could bring. Staging the Olympics in 1964 involved massive investment in new architecture and infrastructure [1] , including housing, hotels, train, subway and monorail lines, elevated highways, and new water and sewage systems. It also accelerated the modernisation of Haneda International Airport and the Port of Tokyo, and helped launch the bullet train. This investment in urban transformation was undertaken alongside Prime Minister Ikeda’s 1960s ‘Income Doubling Plan’ promoting rapid acceleration in manufacturing and export of Japanese products such as automobiles and electronics. The Olympics offered a prime opportunity to showcase and increase sales in advanced Japanese technology — particularly radios, cameras and TVs. Tokyo 1964 was also an opportunity to reintegrate Japan on the international stage as a peaceful, modern nation, and to rehabilitate national identity and pride in the aftermath of the Second World War. The Emperor, the Rising Sun flag and the Self Defence Forces were revived as new symbols of peace incorporated into the Olympic narrative. Tokyo 1964 — later nicknamed the ‘Happy Olympics’ — is remembered as a symbolic event in Japanese post-war history. page 1 / 3