Opinion & Analysis

Opinion: Games coverage has forgotten the hosts, Japan


Jerry Clode observes that New Zealand coverage of the Olympics seems to have forgotten the host nation of Japan.  A deep shame, he says, considering the strong relationship we enjoy with them.

OPINION: Growing up in a sports-mad family, I remember watching the Olympics with my parents, starting from Los Angeles in 1984.  Images of from the opening ceremony have stuck with me.  In particular, the Rocket Man who arrived by jet-pack has, to this day, made me associate technology with the United States.  

Four years later, as a fourteen-year-old, the impact of the Olympics was even more profound. The Seoul Olympics of 1988 were a major focus for our family.  Our cousin, Brent, had made the New Zealand team as a sprint canoeist.

As an up-and-coming cyclist, I watched every second of the road race where my heroes Graeme Millar and Brian Fowler competed courageously.  Following the race through Seoul and its surroundings, I became fascinated with the back-stories about the buildings and areas the riders came through.  

It is no exaggeration that my life-long interest and love of Asia was kindled by my experience of the 1988 Games as an avid fan.  When I cleaned out my home after my parents had passed, I discovered a box of VHS tapes which I had recorded of the '88 Games.  My mother would never throw them away, knowing how formative it was in my future as an Asian specialist.

Fast forward to the 2020 Games, in 2021

As per usual, I am currently loving watching Games.  Sometimes watching on three different screens at the same time.

From the buildup to the of the Games until now, I have been shocked by the lack of coverage about the host nation.  After a crowdless Opening Ceremony, the huge numbers of locals  that lined the men’s and women’s cycling road race was amazing to see.  Local fans had literally jumped through bureaucratic hoops to ensure they could personally witness Olympic history. 

As the Games have continued, Japanese crowds have supported the events with huge enthusiasm despite crowd restriction and uncertainty about attendance.

Interviews with Kiwi and other competing athletes reveal locals have excelled as hosts, showing admirable levels of hospitality, backed up by a high degree of organisation.

As a fan of the Olympics, I feel deeply for our friends in Tokyo and wider Japan.  The Games which were originally postponed to 2021 are still taking place under the shadow and necessary restrictions of Covid.

Despite the challenges, locals have embraced the responsibility and pride of hosting the Games, unselfishly placing the global event ahead of domestic priorities.

Kiwi coverage disturbingly narrow

Watching coverage over the first week, the focus of NZ media has been almost exclusively on New Zealand athletes.  To be sure, it is important to know how our Kiwi athletes are performing – celebrating success, consoling near misses, and lamenting disasters.

Let’s just say we will ‘tick that box’ and the Kiwi media will undoubtedly move into overdrive as our on-the-water strengths hopefully deliver gold, silver, or bronze medals.

What is plainly missing is any coverage of Japan, Tokyo, or the Japanese people.  Thinking back to my experiences of Olympics growing up, this seems a huge lost opportunity to engage Kiwis’ interest in one of our most important partners and Asia-Pacific neighbour.

To use a rugby term, there may be some ‘mitigating factors’ at play.  Journalists, like athletes and residents, are restricted in their movement due to restrictions.  Also, the fact that crowds are absent or restricted means the locals are not as ever-present as they would be in a normal Olympiad.

Despite this, the performances of Japanese athletes has been a key story of the Games. 

The Abe siblings taking individual judo golds within an hour of each other. The first time a Japanese brother and sister won gold on the same day in an Olympic competition.

Japanese youth athletes, Momiji Nishiya and Yuto Horigome, also took the first skateboarding golds in Olympic history.  This is matched by heroic efforts of Japanese surfers in that sport’s first appearance at the Games.

Instead of highlighting these inspiring stories, New Zealand media simply does not seem interested in the hosts.   Disturbingly, this seems to be symptomatic of New Zealand’s increasingly myopic and self-absorbed view of the world.

The Tokyo Games provides a natural context for Kiwis to understand more about Japan; a unique nation that has made a stellar contribution to global culture.

 Of particular interest to Kiwis:

  • Tokyo’s development as one of the most sustainable cities in the world, consequently a key theme of this year’s Games
  • The deep cultural connection between Japan’s Shinto tradition and our own Māori mythology – both our cultures believe in the animism, idea that natural objects such as mountains have a soul and aura
  • The integral role Japan has in making technology accessible and personalised
  • Japan’s stoic recovery from recent natural disasters, a fate we sadly share

At the end of the day, the Kiwi media may well argue that the audience want to see Kiwi athletes, so that is what we will give them and our advertisers.  But remembering the impact of the 1988 Seoul Olympics as key trigger in me developing a career in Asia, I do not think young people of this generation are being inspired in the same way.  There is a loss to being culturally myopic.

 - Asia Media Centre