Tokyo as a Host for the Olympic Games – 1940, 1964 and 2020/21

The day before the opening of the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, the IOC awarded the hosting of the 1940 Games to the Japanese capital Tokyo. This decision was a gamble because the Japanese had no experience in organising international sporting events. Therefore, on the recommendation of the Secretary-General of the Berlin Games, Carl Diem, IOC President Henry de Baillat-Latour sent the German expert Werner Klingeberg to Tokyo as chief advisor. The formation of the organising committee and further preparations progressed very slowly due to the reluctance of the Japanese government and the lack of public support. Furthermore, in July 1937, the 2nd Japanese-Chinese War over Manchuria broke out. Under pressure from the military leadership, the funds for constructing the sports facilities were drastically cut. When a national shame threatened, the government cancelled the Games in July 1938. As a result, the IOC transferred the 1940 Games to the Finnish capital Helsinki within a few days.

Germany and Japan were excluded from the 1948 Olympic Games in London. As early as 1955, Tokyo applied for the 1960 Games, but in vain. At the 56th IOC Session in Munich in 1959, the city finally won the bid for 1964. In contrast to 1940, the preparations received massive support from the government, which wanted to demonstrate that Japan, only two decades after its total defeat in World War II, had developed into a democracy and a significant economic power. But in 1963, the Olympic movement was plunged into a severe crisis by the Games of the New Emerging Forces (GANEFO), founded by China and the states of the Bandung Conference, which also affected the organising committee in Tokyo. But after overcoming this crisis, the first Olympic Games on the Asian continent were a great success, with 5,100 athletes from 93 countries taking part from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo. State-of-the-art sports facilities and new communication channels with the help of satellite technology ensured a worldwide echo.

After an unsuccessful bid for the 2016 Olympic Games, the IOC awarded the 2020 Games to Tokyo again at its session in Buenos Aires on 7 September 2013. Due to the pandemic, the Games had to be postponed to 2021. Eleven thousand athletes from more than 200 countries are expected to compete for the medals.

The paper will focus mainly on political aspects.