Photo/Illutration Torchbearer Aya Terakawa, a former Olympian, runs at the sealed-off Expo ’70 Commemorative Park in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, on April 13. (Yuki Shibata)

Tempers flared at the International Olympic Committee Session held in Cairo in spring 1938.

The Tokyo Olympics were only two years away, but the military was intensifying its campaign in China. Preparations for the Games were delayed.

“Does Japan intend to end the war by the Olympics?” was among a barrage of questions hurled with anger at Jigoro Kano (1860-1938), the first Japanese to serve as an IOC member.

An esteemed judoka, Kano was a leading spokesman in Tokyo’s bid for the 1940 Olympics.

But he unexpectedly died from pneumonia aboard the Hikawa Maru ocean liner on his way home from the Cairo meeting.

Two months after his death, the Japanese government decided to forfeit Tokyo’s right to host the Olympics.

The military had stopped supporting the event, and the government could no longer counter criticisms from overseas.

On April 13, I visited the Japan Olympic Museum, which opened two years ago in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Exhibits related to the 1940 Games included a poster, an official badge and a commemorative teacup.

The exhilaration of the Japanese people could be felt from a copy of a newspaper reporting Tokyo winning the bid. The headline went, “Tokyo Olympics! Officially Decided” and “Our Dream Has Come True.”

Gazing at the displays, my thoughts inevitably turned to the event this summer.

A war cannot be compared to a pandemic. But unlike the 1964 Olympics, which opened under a sunny sky, not a ray of sunshine has brightened the prospects of the upcoming Games.

Thick, dark clouds overhead are growing more ominous.

As of today, only 100 days remain until the Opening Ceremony.

New infections of the novel coronavirus topped 1,000 cases in Osaka Prefecture for the first time on April 13. The Olympic torch relay held at a sealed-off park in the prefecture lacked excitement.

A statue of Kano stands on the museum grounds. As I followed his gaze, I saw the new National Stadium straight ahead.

I wonder if Kano can see images of lively athletes under a blue sky this summer.

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 14

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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