Japan, a country well-acclimated to disasters, named Tokyo 2020 the “Recovery Olympics”. The Japanese wish to drive away any phobia of disasters and restore the world’s trust in Fukushima.
By
M IKHSAN MAHAR from FUKUSHIMA, JAPAN
·4 minutes read
The Fukushima Prefecture in Japan was the site of a horrifying recent natural and nuclear disaster. Nine years have passed and ahead of this year’s Olympics, Fukushima stands on the front line in Japan’s efforts to counter phobias on disasters and the new coronavirus.
Following the earthquake-tsunami and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s reactor leakage in 2011, Fukushima was declared a highly dangerous area in Japan. At least 2,203 died in the disaster. Thousands more were evacuated.
However, through the 2020 Olympics in July, the Japanese government wishes to show the world that Fukushima is now safe. This is deemed especially important as a number of countries have been limiting sports events recently, especially when involving visitors from China, due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The government will surely be able to resolve dangers of the coronavirus.
“We have gone through a major disaster and we resolve everything well. The government will surely be able to resolve dangers of the coronavirus,” Fukushima resident Hiromasa, 65, told Kompas in an interview in Japan late last week.
Japan, a country well-acclimated to disasters, named Tokyo 2020 the “Recovery Olympics”. The Japanese wish to drive away any phobia of disasters and restore the world’s trust in Fukushima. Therefore, Fukushima has been chosen as one of the Olympics’ host cities and as the starting point of the Olympic torch relay.
The city, once on the brink of paralysis, has now begun to flourish again. Shops, restaurants and offices have been reopened. Agriculture and farming industries are blossoming once more after a two-year shut down following the disasters.
The Fukushima Prefecture evacuation area’s revitalization division deputy director, Hideki Yoshida, said that, since 2011, the Fukushima administration and the central government had carried out a strict program to reduce radiation levels in the area. In July 2019, Fukushima’s average radiation level was at 0.14 microsievert per hour, significantly lower than the 2.74 microsievert per house recorded before.
Consequently, 97.5 percent of Fukushima Prefecture is now declared safe for human settlement. Futaba and Fukushima cities at the heart of the prefecture have been declared free of nuclear radiation.
Fukushima is now facing a new challenge in the form of coronavirus outbreak prevention. The Olympics, the world’s most prestigious sports event, has the potential to further the outbreak as athletes and sports fans from all over the world will gather there.
Tickets to the opening ceremony and a number of sports competitions have been sold out since July last year. Rumors of the Olympics’ cancellation spread but have been denied by the Japanese government.
The coronavirus outbreak has led to delays and cancellations of many other sports events, including the 2020 ASEAN Para Games in the Philippines, the Formula E race in China, the Hong Kong Marathon and the China Super League.
As reported by The Guardian, the Chinese national women’s soccer team was quarantined for two weeks at a hotel in Brisbane, Australia, when they were to join in a 2020 Olympics qualification match late last week.
However, such difficulties have yet to discourage the team members. They held routine trainings by turning the hotel’s corridor into a soccer field. A similar thing was done by Wang Shuang, the team’s star player and former member of the Paris Saint-Germain women’s football club.
Despite being isolated in her apartment in Wuhan, Shuang refuses to live in fear and hopelessness. She continues her training on her apartment building’s rooftop.
The Japanese authorities are increasing their efforts to counter coronavirus phobia without reducing their alertness. Fukushima Prefecture’s 2020 Olympics and Paralympics deputy director of promotions, Jun Suzuki, gave assurances that coronavirus outbreak prevention procedures were in place in all arenas of the 2020 Olympics.
It is highly important to stop the fear [surrounding the coronavirus] as it spreads faster than the virus itself.
Similar efforts are under way in Tokyo. Japan will require everyone, especially those coming in from China, to send their travel and health history documents before entering Japan. Intensive monitoring will also be done on athletes and sports fans attending the Olympics.
Quarantine zones are also being prepared, including in Yokohama. “It is highly important to stop the fear [surrounding the coronavirus] as it spreads faster than the virus itself,” International Paralympics Committee spokesman Craig Spence said, as quoted by ESPN.