A Tokyo for everyone

The improvements made have not gone unnoticed by the city’s residents. A post-Games survey revealed that 60 per cent of them felt that accessibility had improved thanks to Tokyo 2020. In preparation for Tokyo 2020, barrier-free facilities were created in the city’s transport network, generating benefits at Games-time and for the local community for years to come. Access was improved at rail stations, including those serving the competition venues, with spectators with disabilities able to take step-free routes from the platform to the arena and use barrier-free restrooms.

Elsewhere, new train carriages with wheelchair spaces were added to Tokyo’s rolling stock, station elevators were refurbished, and platform doors installed at stations right across the city’s subway system, among other developments.

Barrier-free improvements for the city’s pedestrians included the installation of sound signals and Braille blocks at crossings, and the removal of utility poles and steps and kerbs between pavements and vehicle lanes.

On the city’s bus network, the first fully flat-floor buses were introduced, along with electric lifts for wheelchair users on sightseeing buses. The city’s fleet of taxis was also overhauled, with the introduction of universal design taxis, which have a wheelchair-accessible entry point that allows users to get into the taxi without having to get out of their wheelchairs.

Changes were made in accommodation as well, with the passing of laws requiring guest rooms to be set up for wheelchair users, while barrier-free standards were introduced at Tokyo’s cultural venues and parks. Lift doors were widened at museums, automatic doors installed at libraries, tactile learning tools fitted at art galleries, and wheelchair ramps made flatter in parks.

Myriad cutting-edge technologies, including 5G networks, robotics, projection mapping and hydrogen technology, were rolled out for Tokyo 2020 with the aim of providing safer, smarter and more engaging environments for sport. As well as generating long-lasting benefits for the city’s residents, the use of these technologies created a blueprint for the staging of future major sporting events.

New spectator experiences were achieved by using 5G and other high-capacity transmission technologies, including the live streaming of ultra-high-resolution video. High-quality facial recognition technology was installed in 303 lanes at 48 locations, enhancing security measures for athletes and officials.

Thanks to the use of fuel-cell and plug-in hybrid technology, 95 per cent of Games vehicles were low-emission and fuel-efficient. Following their successful use, 1,573 fuel-cell vehicles and 85 fuel-cell buses were introduced in Tokyo. Meanwhile, 17 automated loop buses were used in the Olympic Village to transport athletes and other visitors, another potential sign of things to come.

Some 73 robots of 12 different types were used in various settings at the Games, including self-propelled information robots, giving a glimpse into a future in which humans and robots coexist.

A language-barrier-free environment was created thanks to the Omotenashi Guide multilingual speech translation app and the installation of some 300 translation terminals at competition venues and the Olympic Village. In keeping operations staff, athletes and officials informed, regardless of their language abilities, they provided another example of how technology can be harnessed for the benefit of society.