Tokyo Games brought 'eerie' atmosphere, subdued cultural experience, says reporter

The 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo pushed through a year long delay, protests, and the city's worst outbreak of COVID-19, all which changed the Olympic experience. 

Fans weren't allowed in the stands to cheer on their country, while some held protests against the decision to hold the Games during the pandemic in the first place.

Amidst the unusual backdrop, Japanese culture didn't get the moment in the spotlight that a host nation typically enjoys during the event, according to the New York Times' Tokyo bureau chief Motoko Rich.

"It just seems like a little bit of a missed opportunity for Japan," said Rich. "They really did want to show off their country and they haven't really been able to."

Rich spoke with The Current's guest host Laura Lynch about what it was like to be at the Games, and what to expect at the 2020 Paralympics later in August.

Here is part of their conversation.

It's no secret that these games were deeply unpopular in Japan. I'm wondering ... how you would describe the feeling of the people now that the competition is over? 

Well, I think that the feeling, some of the antipathy had subsided during the Games, which is not surprising.

I think there have been other host cities that have had problems before the games and then once the festivities kick off, people start to focus on the athleticism, the displays of sportsmanship, the big drama and, of course, the medal count. And Japan did quite well in the medal count this time around, so I think people got into it.

There certainly were protesters who were outside the stadium or in front of the prime minister's office. There were people who are very concerned about the potential impact that the Olympics had on the spread of COVID. It doesn't seem like there's a direct connection. The number of cases inside the Olympic bubble were relatively small.

But the question is whether the Olympics itself kind of normalized certain kinds of behaviour and made people feel like they could let their guard down. 

You got to see some of the competition in person. What was it like for you watching from those mostly empty stands? 

So eerie, I have to say. You're looking up in these, many of them, new venues built for the occasion. Or even if they had been around, you're just looking at rows and rows and rows of empty seats, and that's just really odd.

And then you kind of hear sounds that you might not otherwise hear. [While watching] table tennis, you hear every smack of the ball on the table and every grunt of the player. In soccer you could hear the chatter between players. 

Although, I went to a match where they were piping in artificially the sound of applause and cheering, and that was just really weird because I'm here staring at these empty stands and yet hearing kind of taped recordings of applause and cheer.... It's just very eerie and a little bit sad and certainly bittersweet. 

I covered the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, and I do remember how very proud the Japanese were to show their country and their culture to the world. I'm wondering if there's a sense of that among the Japanese people. I mean, the Games are being lauded for their level of organization, if nothing else. 

I think a lot of people feel like they didn't get to show the country.

I was watching the closing ceremony last night and there was a segment where they had, you know, people in street fashion dancing, doing Capoeira, doing double Dutch jump, skateboarding, doing a bit of stunt biking, and it was supposed to evoke a Japanese or a Tokyo park. But I had the feeling watching it that like, this is what the people who came for the Olympics didn't see.

It just seems like a little bit of a missed opportunity for Japan, that they really did want to show off their country and they haven't really been able to. 

The Olympics may be over, but the Paralympics are set to begin in about two weeks. What are Japanese views toward that starting up and people coming in again? 

There probably is a little bit of wariness, like, "Okay, we're ready to be done with all of this." On the other hand, I think there probably are people who have tickets who will be interested to know whether they'll be allowed to go.

There will also be questions for the organization of it and how it's managed, because there are lots of different issues for Paralympic athletes, like whether or not they're allowed to bring assistance that they might normally have.

So I think there will be a lot of focus and attention on how normal those games can be given all of the protocols that are in place. 

Written by Philip Drost. Produced by Julie Crysler. Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.