It's hard to avoid making comparisons between now and then on the eve before the 2020 Games opening ceremony, which will occur at the same stadium. The mood is starker than it was in Tokyo's optimistic days before the 1964 Games.
Akira Tokairin talks about his I-was there moment. He begins, "I was sitting in the corner, so I had a great view on the pole vault."
Tokairin is not 83 years of age. Tokairin climbs mountains, won the masters giant slalom contest last winter, loves rugby, and talks with a firm tone. He rattles off stories from 57years ago like they were yesterday.
On October 15, 1964, he was in Tokyo's National Stadium watching his friends Yoshimasa Torii, and Hisao Morita competes in the Olympic pole vault competition. Although neither of them made it to the final, Japan was vaulting into a new era by the end of the Games.
"Those years were a low point in Japanese history, and the 1964 Olympics was a turning point for a bright future. Tokairin states that there was a lot of positive energy in the lead-up to the Games.
It's hard to avoid making comparisons between now and then on the eve before the 2020 Games opening ceremony, which will occur at the same stadium.
The mood is starker than it was in Tokyo's optimistic days before the 1964 Games. The Tokyo resident said that the 2020 Olympics is not comparable to 1964. "1964 was much more important,", especially for Tokairin's generation.
Tokairin was conceived on Valentine's Day, 1938. His mother died shortly after his birth, and his father died at the end of World War II. Tokairin's son-in-law, Brett Larner, says that his stepmother could not afford to care for him and his younger brother and sister. He had a close relationship with the aunt with who he was sent to live. Her husband was the direct descendant of a local Samurai lord. He was very strict and left high school to go to work.
Mika Tokairin, Mika's daughter, says such stories are too familiar in her father's generation. But, for most, the 1964 Olympics was a life-changing moment. They were also the first Olympics to be held in Asia and a non-Western nation.
Michael Payne, former IOC marketing director, says a lot of fear among the public about Japan embarrassing itself in front of the entire world. But, instead, they turned out to be, as Sports Illustrated pointed out back then, a sign of Japan's "modernity as a state."
These were called the Sci-Fi Olympics. Some innovations were revolutionary, such as the first use of computers and live images being transmitted across the globe via satellites. Tokairin, an engineer for a Japanese multinational conglomerate, was at the center of many of these transformational moments.
These years, which spanned the second half 1950s to the early 1960s, were known as 3Ks.
They are based on Japanese pronunciations: kuruma, karaterebi, and Kura. These are the things that I associate with the 1964 Olympics. Tokairin says that although I was very busy at work, it was great to be one company part of the transformation.
Technology was not the only thing that transformed. It had a massive impact on infrastructure. "Tokyo was still going through a rebuilding period after the war years. For the Olympics, there was investment in highways and the Shinkansen bullet trains system. He says that this kind of infra development had a transformative impact on the country and the city. It lasts until today."
It is true. It is. The highway linking Haneda Airport and the downtown was built as part of the $280million project that the government launched back in 1996 to address the traffic problem. Millions more were spent on housing, sports facilities, and many of these will be used for the Games.
"The 1940 Olympics, which Japan was supposed to host, were canceled because of the World War. Tokairin says that everyone was excited about the 1964 Games after the post-war reconstruction. "But, of course, everyone couldn't go to the venues as all tickets were sold. This kind of drove a lot the spread of technology such as color TVs.
Japan Times reported earlier this week that TV sales had risen ahead of the opening ceremony. However, the reasons for this spike are entirely different. This is because fans will not attend the Olympics due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tokairin was eager to see his fourth Olympics. Tokairin has attended three Olympics in Japan so far, including two Winter Games. He was able to see the track and field events at National Stadium. There, he saw his two friends compete for the pole vault. He will now be able to watch it at his home.
However, that's not the only disappointment he will face. Tokyo was awarded the right to host the Olympics in 2013. The idea behind it was to show the world the country had overcome another trauma, the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident that had severely affected Fukushima in Japan's northeast.
To the Tokyoites, all the claims that these are the "Recovery Games," as they call them, seem hollow. "Most of their legacy will be in the venues themselves. Tokairin states that they haven't seen the same infrastructure development since 1964. The new National Stadium will be there for a while, and some other venues will continue to exist. It will be a lasting legacy for athletes. The average person will not benefit as much.
The mood may change once more attention is paid to the sport. This sequel, however, doesn't seem to live up to the hype.