As most know, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) chose Tokyo, Japan as the host country for the Olympics in 2020.

At the time, Japanese people were very happy to hear the news and instantly had big expectations.

But this is now the past.

Japan needs to focus on how it will bring Olympic success for not just all of the countries participating in the games, but also Japan itself.

The Ministry of Sports set a goal to get 25-30 of gold medals and ranking in the third or the fifth position at the Olympics. It decided to focus on winning the less popular sports instead of focusing on ones like soccer, volleyball and basketball in order to increase the number of gold medals.

When it comes to less mainstream sports such as fencing, shot put and canoeing, I should mention how situation these athletes have previously gotten by.

In the past, its been tough and rare for athletes that participate in less popular sports to train every day, while also supporting themselves financially.

They would have to practice while also working a part-time job and often having help from a relative.

Most of the wages that they made would go towards transportation and accommodation, therefore, they usually could not take enough rest and focus solely on their sport, like other athletes can.

Although there are a large number of promising athletes, they tend to take retirement into their consideration when they think they don’t have any financial support to continue their career.

However, there are some encouraging signs for Japanese athletes these days.

“Athlete Navigation” by the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) began to encourage firms to adopt them with financial aid.

As a result, some of them were able to get paid to train, allowing them to focus on their sport. Additionally, the firms helped them for with their travelling fees.

One of the private enterprises, MIRAIT Technologies, positively and independently started employing them on its own without recommendation from the JOC.

It understands their tough situation and helps them be able to practice sufficiently, while also guaranteeing them a job after retirement from their sports.

With support like this, Japanese athletes can concentrate on sports without any anxiousness.

The Ministry of Sports adopted the bringing up and reinforcement program for less popular sports into the budget.

The program encourages youth who can aim at the Olympics to play seven less popular sports such as boating, wrestling, archery and so on, with $500,000 to support them.

After screening their physical abilities, selected students by the government will start taking special programs with the goal to get them get on the Olympic podium.

Construction for the Olympics has already begun. Six years can seem long, but it’s really not all that far away. Especially for the athletes.

To be a perfect host country and also activate the Japanese economy again is a daunting task. We’ll be watching.

 

 

Photo: Wikimedia Commons