Supporting recovery from disaster

Tokyo 2020 was billed as the Recovery and Reconstruction Games and showed the rest of the world the progress made by the northeastern prefectures worst affected by the disaster, namely Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima, and showcased their products, promoted tourism there, and dispelled reputational damage. The Games also helped prevent the memory of the disaster from fading away and reminded people of the importance of disaster prevention through educational programmes.

In addition, the Games allowed for the continuation of sports-exchange programmes with the hardest-hit areas, with some 40,000 people taking part in them up to 2021. As part of these initiatives, athletes and young people from these areas participated in sporting events in Tokyo, such as marathons and football and baseball tournaments, and were invited to watch the Games. Meanwhile, leading Japanese athletes visited Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima to run sports programmes tailored to the needs and circumstances of each prefecture.

The choice of Tokyo 2020 competition venues reflected this support as well, with Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium and Miyagi Stadium (football) being selected, while the National Training Centre J-Village in Fukushima provided the starting point of the Olympic Torch Relay.

Symbolism was also high on the agenda. The torches used in the relay were made in part from aluminium recovered from temporary housing put up to shelter people made homeless by the disaster, while the 5,000 victory bouquets presented to athletes at the Games were fashioned from flowers grown in the worst-hit areas. Athletes were also served food produced in these areas at the Olympic Village.

Art has been a feature of the recovery efforts too. Some 120 projects were implemented as part of the Art Support Tohoku-Tokyo project, set up to help restore the cultural environment in the country’s northeast.

That theme continued with the creation of three Recovery Monuments – each over two metres high – by students at the Tokyo University of the Arts, which were erected outside the Olympic Stadium before the Games. Also made with aluminium recovered from temporary housing, the monuments bear messages from students from Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima, expressing their thanks for the assistance received in the aftermath of the disaster and their support to the athletes competing at Tokyo 2020.

The project, which was made possible by the cooperation of the International Olympic Committee, also saw athletes donate their autographs. As a lasting memory of the Games, these were cast on plates and mounted on the monuments, which are now on permanent display in the three prefectures: at Otsuchi Town Cultural Exchange Centre in Iwate; Miyagi General Athletics Park in Miyagi, and the National Training Centre J-Village.