With fan ban, Fukushima residents rue Tokyo ‘Recovery Olympics’ message

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the Japanese authorities to place a fan ban on the Olympic events. With the fan ban in place, Tokyo 2020, which was supposed to be the “Recovery Olympics,” will not be able to showcase its rebuilding after the 2011 disaster.

With the ban in place, Fukushima residents are rueing over the fact that their efforts were all in vain.

Japan’s bid for the Games specifically cited a desire to show the resilience of areas hit by the 2011 quake, which triggered a tsunami that killed more than 18,500 people and caused the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The first event of the Games — softball — will take place in Fukushima, and it is also a baseball host venue.

Initially, organisers had said a spectator ban in Tokyo and surrounding areas would not affect regions in northeastern Japan — but Fukushima’s hopes were dashed two days later, when rising cases prompted the prefecture’s governor to take a decision against fans.

On Tuesday, three “Recovery Monuments” were unveiled next to the Olympic stadium in Tokyo, designed to “forge a connection” with the areas worst hit by the disaster.

The monuments stand over two metres tall and are partly made of aluminium recycled from temporary housing in the affected regions.

Athletes will pass the monuments going into the stadium, and can read the messages of support written on them, as well as write and attach their own.

But some Fukushima residents believe the “Recovery Olympics” message has been lost as organisers focus on hosting the event safely during the pandemic.

“I think the phrase ‘Recovery Olympics’ has been forgotten,” said Hanae Nojiri, a reporter with a local Fukushima TV station, AFP reported.

“I think people hesitate to talk about it because all the effort is going into tackling the virus,” Hanae added.

William McMichael, a Canadian lecturer at Fukushima University, who has worked for years to educate people about the region and its recovery, said that the decision has left the Fukushima resident wondering.

“There’s no way for us to help people understand what’s going on in Fukushima,” news agency AFP quoted McMichael as saying.

“That was the whole purpose, and it’s all in vain now,” he added.

Fans are currently allowed in limited numbers at other sporting events across Japan, and some Fukushima residents said the contradiction was difficult to understand.

“Things are really bad because of the virus, but I think at least kids should have been able to see some top-class baseball players,” AFP quoted Yumiko Nishimoto, who leads a community project to plant 20,000 cherry trees.

“I would have liked them to have tried a little bit harder to find a reason to do it, rather than finding a reason not to do it,” he added.

Neighbouring Miyagi prefecture, which is set to host the Games’ football, is currently set to allow up to 5,000 fans.

However, local media reports suggest that the mayor of Sendai has written to organisers urging that spectators be banned there, too.