The Tokyo Olympics that will be held in 2020 has been bringing considerable excitement and joy to Japanese as well as people from all over the world. With an interval of fifty-six years, it is a second time since 1964 for us to become the host country for this international event .
For the duration of this Summer Olympics, many effects are expected by our government, media, enterprises as well as the people of the nation themselves. An influx of foreign tourists, the opportunity to spread our unique culture, a reconstruction of infrastructure such as rail lines and roads, and an increase in sports facilities are instances of the countless economic benefits that could accrue. Furthermore, many are hoping that the financial profits that will be produced could directly support reconstruction of Tohoku, where the damages from the 3.11 earthquake still remain.
However, a serious problem appeared recently. At the conference held by the Japan Sport Council, the cost of the construction of the New Olympic Stadium has been called into question. Due to the additional designs and the cost of materials, it has been decided that the total rebuilding expense will be well over $2 billion, which is almost $900 million more than the initial planned cost. To compare this with the cost of the stadium built for the 2012 London Olympics, it is five times what they spent. This poses a big difficulty especially for the citizens. The fact that most of this will be paid from taxes triggers reproaches from the people.
“Considering what the International Olympic Committee is carrying out for reform, the current cost is far from satisfactory,” said Tsunekazu Takeda, the chairman of the Japan Olympics Committee.
In addition, representatives of civic organizations gave an incisive comment which questions the plan of building a new stadium.
“Instead of building a new stadium, we should be utilizing the existing facilities,” Takeda adds, “we should be aiming to create an Olympics that would not put heavy demand on the citizens.”
As this became a serious matter, many Japanese began to feel anxious whether holding the Olympics will truly be profitable for the country, and to claim that spending money for an event like this can be a waste of resources. People wonder whether being chosen as the site for the Olympics would bring us a good or poor result. And this implies that it will take a while to settle this issue.
From the citizens’ perspective, I’m not sure whether we should be sacrificing the taxes that we pay to our country for building a new stadium. However, at the same time, I also think that we should not be missing this great opportunity to represent our country’s advanced technology and skills with with we can impress people from all over the world. Even though the building expense may be colossal, the solution that our country will come up with will show our sagaciousness, and it will depend on all of us how we will be able to make use of this opportunity. As I am bilingual in English and Japanese, I believe that there is so much that I can do to contribute to the country. Therefore, no matter how this issue of the stadium will end, I am willing to represent this country as a volunteer to spread the beauty and allure of Japan to the world.