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Japan gears up for high-tech Olympics
Good impression: The Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics emblems
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ood impression: The Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics emblems. Both use the traditional Japanese checkered pattern known as ichimatsu moyo from the Edo period (1603-1867), in which the color indigo blue expresses a refined elegance and sophistication that exemplifies Japan. (JP/A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil)
Japan is all set to host the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics with up-to-date technology to support the summer event amid concerns of security and health.
The Tokyo Olympics Game 2020 Organizing Committee’s press relations project director Michiko Makino said the event would make use of Japanese technology.
The technology includes human support robots and delivery support robots developed by Toyota Motor Corp. to help spectators, especially those in wheelchairs, such as by carrying food and other items, guiding people to seats and providing information.
Power assist suits developed by Panasonic Corp. will unload and transport heavy objects, easing human workload with a healthier and safer working environment.
“There are more technologies in the pipeline and we will reveal more this year,” Makino told ASEAN reporters during a visit to the Olympics Committee headquarters in Tokyo recently.
Other technology to be employed is a face recognition system provided by NEC Corp., a Tokyo 2020 Gold Partner, which will be used to verify the identity of athletes, officials, other staff members and media representatives at accreditation check points.
“The system will allow athletes, staff members and the media to go in venues without using some kind of card. They just need to show their face,” Makino said.
She said the technology would ensure security was reinforced at the venues, where 15,000 security personnel from private security contractors and the Japanese police force would be deployed.
However, physical security during the event is not the only cause of concern as the coronavirus outbreak, which emerged from Wuhan, China, has worried cities and countries around the world, including Japan.
As of Wednesday, the World Health Organization had recorded 45,171 cases of the disease caused by the coronavirus, COVID-19. Japan has confirmed 28 cases, 24 of them were people who had recently traveled to China.
Despite the threat, Makino said the committee had assured that the Tokyo Games would not be halted and it had collaborated with various relevant organizations.
“We are not concerned about the possibility of stopping [the event] or convincing the audience [that the Olympics will be safe]. We have six months before the Olympics,” Makino said.
The committee will prepare up to 43 sporting event venues, most of which are existing sports facilities, with eight newly constructed venues and 10 temporary venues.
The main venue will be held at the New National Stadium in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Despite being newly constructed, it is the former site of the National Stadium used in the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games.
The older stadium was demolished in 2015. In 2016, construction of the new stadium began with a cost of 157 billion yen (US$1.4 billion).
“We’re trying to use as many existing facilities for the Games,” Makino said.
She said the Tokyo Metropolitan Government planned to allow the Japanese public to use the facilities after the Games.
“As for the new national stadium, it is not only for sporting events but also for concerts and entertainment events,” Makino said.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics is slated to be held from July 24 to Aug. 9, with 33 competitions, followed by the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics on Aug. 25 to Sept. 6, with 22 sporting events.
The Olympics will start with the women’s softball preliminary rounds at Fukushima Azuma Stadium, two days before the official opening.
The torch relay will also start in Fukushima Prefecture on March 26 and will travel all 47 prefectures in Japan for a total of 121 days.
The choice of Fukushima is intentional, despite the area having been devastated by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, as well as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
She said workers at the Fukushima Daichi facility were able to work safely on 96 percent of the premises without special clothing, while radiation levels in Fukushima were no different than that in or outside of Japan.
Across Japan, the Olympics have also shown its presence with 22 permanent official shops selling licensed merchandise, such as T-shirts, key chains, sporting equipment and other Olympic souvenirs.
