Japanese " Sport for Tomorrow" Program for 2020 Tokyo Olympics

     In addition to what I argued about Japanese public diplomacy with 2020 Tokyo Olympics and possible anxiety with Olympics because of Fukushima disaster in 2011 in previous post, I would like to introduce one of the strategies that Japan used for winning competition to be the host country. Also, that strategy can be great soft power that significantly affects public diplomacy.

     At the final presentation for IOC to determine the hosting country in Buenos Aires, Japanese Prime Minister Abe stated that Japan would conduct special program for developing sports in the world called “Sport for Tomorrow” program, which is conducted as international strategic bilateral enterprise. Japanese international volunteering organization, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology will cooperate in this program.

     This “Sport for Tomorrow” program aims to help developing countries maintain environments to play sports. One of the examples is supporting developing countries to draw up school physical education curriculum. This program also corresponds to each country’s needs by constructing International Cooperating Consortium. Moreover, it contains program to provide instruments and to construct schools in developing countries. “Sport for Tomorrow” program also promotes “the Olympic Movement around the globe, the creation of an international sports academy based in Japan, and additional support for WADA’s global anti-doping efforts.”

     This effort to declare that Japan is the country that promote playing sports and supporting Olympics and athletes can be effective for Japanese public diplomacy because reputation of Japan will be growing up if this program can actually help developing countries to improve school physical education as the program progress in the future. “Sport for Tomorrow” program can be influential as Japanese soft power because Japan can positively affect other countries in bilateral relationship and also can get attraction to Japan from them. Actually, after the Prime Minister Abe’s final presentation that mentioned this program in Buenos Aires, Japan could win the competition, which proved this program is attractive.

     Of course there are many other factors that can be Japanese soft power. As “Cool Tokyo” Ambassador Christel Takigawa mentioned in her presentation in Buenos Aires, tourism attraction will be attracting people who visit Japan because of great hospitality, safety and significant punctuality of public transportation. These factors can be Japanese soft power that influences those who will come to Tokyo in 2020 when Olympic is held. Moreover, this “Sport for Tomorrow” program will be direct influence on other countries over the world as soft power that can straightly attract them by supporting to promote sports and physical education in bilateral relationship.

Original article:

https://www.sportsfeatures.com/olympicsnews/story/50456/tokyo-2020-launches-new-sport-for-tomorrow-program

Other articles:

http://www.mext.go.jp/component/b_menu/other/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2013/08/30/1339149_01.pdf (written in Japanese)

http://www.huffingtonpost.jp/2013/09/07/olympic_candidate_tokyo_presentation_n_3886260.html#slide=2869649 (written in Japanese)

http://research.php.co.jp/blog/kaneko/2013/09/10.php (written in Japanese)