November 27, 2017
Keio University
The decision to hold the 1972 Sapporo Olympic Games was made at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Rome in 1966. It is said that the deciding factor was an audio tape recorded by Shingoro Takaishi, an IOC member who graduated from Keio University in 1901, while he was in poor health. In preparation for the special exhibition "Modern Japan and Keio Sports—Do Not Forget the Purpose of Physical Education," which opens on November 28, the Fukuzawa Memorial Center for Modern Japanese Studies at Keio University discovered that the tape was stored at the Sapporo Olympic Museum. With the museum's cooperation, the Center has created the first digital version of the open-reel audio recording.
Coinciding with the November 22 official announcement by the city of Sapporo and the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) of their preparations to bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, we have decided to release the audio at the special exhibition. This will be the first time the audio is released to the public.
Please see below for the full press release.