Olympic change of heart? | Sports

The Rocky Road to Toki0, Part 19: Japan’s Pacifism Is Deeply Anchored, But Military Spending Is On The Up. Understanding of peoples through sport is opposed to a patriotic Olympia.

When you ask people in Japan what they want for the world, you keep hearing the word: “Heiwa.” Japanese for peace. In the East Asian country that fought alongside Germany in World War II, many are proud to be pacifists. The rejection of war is, so to speak, a reason of state: The Japanese people renounce war for all time, says Article 9 of the constitution, which the victorious USA wrote after 1945. And further: “In order to achieve the goal of the previous paragraph, no land, sea or air forces or other means of war are maintained. A right of the state to wage war is not recognized. “

What does that have to do with exercise? A lot, say critics of the government and the Tokyo Olympic organizers. Eiichi Kido, professor of political science at Osaka University, is one of them. Olympia as a celebration of international understanding is also being used to strengthen Japan militarily: “The intention of the Japanese authorities is clear from the start to abuse the Olympic Games. Namely, to make the country fit for war. Since the end of the Cold War there have been repeated attempts to change the pacifist constitutional article 9. “

Japan’s Conservative government would phrase this differently than Eiichi Kido, but its goal is no secret. In 2019, the then ruling nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced: “I have said several times that I want to make 2020 the year in which a new constitution comes into force. That wish has not changed. ”Two years earlier, Abe said,“ 2020 is the year we host the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. I want this year to mark a rebirth of Japan. “

Amendment of the Constitution

Before the pandemic, which began in 2020, it looked for a while that this could work. The political direction has been pointing to a strengthening of the armed forces for some time. For Japan, 2021 marks the ninth consecutive year of increasing military spending. “If you look at the absolute increase, it is not particularly high,” points out Raymond Yamamoto, a political professor at Aarhus University and an expert on foreign and security policy. But he also says: “The public is skeptical about a drastic increase in the military budget.”

It is precisely because of this widespread skepticism – and the strength of pacifism in the country – that the government has not been able to rewrite the constitution to this day. In a referendum required for this, a majority would have voted against it. And now that the Olympic Games have become extremely unpopular during the pandemic, there is little hope for the conservatives that a patriotic Olympic feeling would cause a change of heart.

But with its parliamentary majority, the government passed other laws with which it wants to create a stronger feeling of security, at least domestically. A law has been punishing whistleblowers since 2013, and arms exports have basically been allowed since 2014. Also in 2014, the then ruling Shinzo Abe declared that Japan could be militarily present on the side of the USA anytime and anywhere.

“And in 2017 he enforced a law that can be used to punish anyone who has even planned any anti-war action. You don’t even have to do it, ”says Eiichi Kido with anger in his voice. “So, step by step, Abe took the path to make Japan fit for war.” And his successor Yoshihide Suga, who previously served as Abe’s chief secretary, continues this line. He too would like to see a constitutional amendment at the end of which no article on pacifism can be found.

What does all of this have to do with the Olympic idea of ​​international understanding and peace? The organizing committee has not yet responded to a corresponding request.

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