Online Custom «The Tokyo Olympic Games (2020)» Essay Sample

The speculated impact of the Olympics is the potential to boost the economy of the countries in which it is hosted. In 2013, Japan was nominated to host this event and it is clear from news articles that it is expected to boost the economic development (especially pertaining to its deflation) and tourism. In the 20^th century Japan was largely under the Global South but has developed rapidly due to its manufacturing potential. The city of Tokyo is thought to overarch the general picture of Japan and its ability to host the 2020 Olympics. Herein, an attempt is made to analyze how Japan and Tokyo are represented in the global context using two news articles obtained from Daily mail and Journalist’s Resource.

During the Second World War, Japan experienced widespread property damages that covered whole cities due to America’s war strategy of bomb campaign. The war ended after the nuclear bombs were dropped, and what followed was Japan’s growth as an economic giant. However, due to a progressively increasing gross domestic product surplus, Japan has seen continuous deflation for the last 15 years. This can change as Tokyo considers the prospects of tourism.

The Two Articles

The first article selected represents the abilities of Tokyo to host the 2020 Olympics. This article deals with the latest effects of the earthquake, Fukushima meltdown and the ability of Japan to host this event. Food safety assurance and the morale of Tokyo residents in trusting the government to deliver in this article are reported to be negatively affected.

In the second article, a more positive outlook is presented. In contrast to the foregoing article, government leaders are depicted articulating about the positive prospects of hosting the Olympics. They deny the effects of radiation from Fukushima expressing that it has little effects on the population of Tokyo. In both articles, the expansion of infrastructure such as the Tokyo Olympic stadium is seen as an opportunity to attain maximum potential in hosting the Games.

Articles’ Representations

The above articles represent the people of Tokyo as both hardworking and fun loving. Pictures of Japanese celebrating and conducting their businesses in Tokyo are included in both articles. Tokyo is presented as a highly developed city with its streets and buildings well lit and covered by posters.

The issue addressed in both articles is the ability of Tokyo to host the Olympic Games. Since the earthquake and the consequent meltdown of the Fukushima reactor, concerns have been growing about the safety of food in the city. Both articles depict how politicians make assumptions without basing them on scientific evidence. In the second article, politicians are seen to only articulate about how deflation shall reduce, but offer little in-depth knowledge into what is really happening at Fukushima (the explanation of radioactive damage is only clear in the first article).

Consequently, the government sees the solution to the current radioactive threat in a complete shutdown of the Fukushima plant by 2042, while in the second article politicians offer to cordon off the area near the plant. Both articles concurrently report how Tokyo is promoting infrastructural development in order to ensure readiness for the large number of tourist inflow in 2020.

However, in both articles, the viewpoints of Tokyo residents is highly overlooked, especially in relation to how they expect the Olympic Games to affect their livelihood. Tokyo is one of the most expensive cities in the world, but both articles fall short to express how this will change once the 2020 Olympic Games are conducted.

Conclusions

To sum it up, the major concerns about the ability of Japan to host the Olympic Games lie in the effects of radioactive pollution and the ability to build revolutionary infrastructure. The growth of the tourism sector is expected by 2020, thus most politicians are seeking to campaign for its promotion. Article 1 represents the loss of faith in the government and the way it handles sensitive issues such as radioactive pollution. However, neither article represents the viewpoints of average Tokyo residents, especially on how they presume the Olympic Games shall change their levels of income and livelihood.