Japan's "ambitions for a trouble-free 2020 Tokyo Olympics to showcase the country's economic revival are facing an unexpected obstacle course as planners lurch from one fiasco to the next," according to Elaine Kurtenbach of the AP.
The 2020 Games "were dubbed the clinching 'fourth arrow'" of PM Shinzo Abe's ambitious strategy "to restore Japan's star stature after two decades of economic doldrums." But instead of burnishing the country's image, the glitches so far "have tarnished it."
Last week, organizers "scrapped their Olympics logo." That followed Abe's decision in July "to drop a gargantuan new national stadium design." Some say the embarrassments show Japan "has yet to adapt its idiosyncratic, opaque ways of decision-making and planning to 21st century expectations for transparency and accountability." Nancy Snow, a professor emeritus in communications at California State University at Fullerton, said, "Tokyo 2020 is so symbolic of their lagging behind in globalization. This is a disaster in terms of communication and image management." Even the Yomiuri newspaper, which usually cheers Abe and his policies, "described the scandal over the logo as a 'big blunder.'" Snow: "The perception from outside is the Japanese are perfectionists and are very good planners. They run a tight ship. This is the leakiest ship." Michael Cucek, an adjunct professor of politics at Tokyo's Sophia University, said that ultimately, Abe "shares responsibility for having appointed those in charge." He said,
"The person who put those people where they are is Abe. It's really a question of having people who can execute this at the top" (AP, 9/9).
