On the Tokyo Olympics | Jiro Kokuryo (Dean, Faculty of Policy Management)

2012.06.14

It was 1964, so I think I had just turned five. While I don't have many other memories from that time, my recollection of the Tokyo Olympics is vivid. Led by the hand by my parents and older girls from the neighborhood, I went to see the torch relay runner near where the Akasaka General Branch Office is on Aoyama-dori Avenue. In truth, the runner himself passed by in a flash through a gap in the crowd, and I don't remember it that well. What I remember more clearly is that on the way, someone bought me some Glico caramels, and when I excitedly opened the small prize box, it also had an Olympic-themed picture inside. These "Glico prizes" had a huge impact that has gone down in the history of Japanese marketing, and this episode illustrates how the entire country was swept up in the Olympic spirit. Back then, it was still the era depicted in "Always: Sunset on Third Street," so for a child, just being bought caramels was a momentous occasion—a welcome event that happened because of the Olympics.

I think it was the same day, but I also have a vivid memory of returning home to see the Blue Impulse aerobatic team fly across a perfectly clear blue sky, drawing the five Olympic rings with colored smoke. At the time, I only vaguely sensed the excitement sweeping across Japan without really understanding why. But just 12 years after the San Francisco Peace Treaty came into effect following Japan's defeat in World War II, a poor and isolated nation was welcoming athletes from around the world and announcing the start of a global event with jet fighters. It is fair to say that a new chapter in history began at that moment.

Later, as I began to study the history of technology, I learned that all sorts of technological developments were aimed at being ready for the Olympics. The Shinkansen bullet train and the Shuto Expressway were both constructed to be completed in time for the Games. One of my earliest memories is from 1963, of the adults in an uproar as news of President Kennedy's assassination was broadcast to Japan via satellite. Looking back, I realize this happened while preparations were underway for satellite broadcasting to deliver the Olympics to the world. In a field closer to my own specialty, the results from each venue at the Tokyo Olympics were compiled and connected online, marking the dawn of online computing in Japan. Building on that experience and technology, the Japanese National Railways (now JR) launched its MARS system (the Midori-no-Madoguchi seat reservation system) the following year, in 1965. The online computerization of banks also progressed.

For the Olympics, which have such a powerful effect on society as a whole, three students from SFC—Ryo Tateishi, Manami Doi, and Ryota Yamagata—have already qualified, and there are other current students with a high probability of competing as well. Among our alumni, Masato Yokota, who graduated in 2010, has also qualified. Looking at Keio University as a whole, Ryo Miyake from the Faculty of Letters and Hiroshi Hoketsu, a graduate of the Faculty of Economics, have also secured their spots. Just qualifying for the Olympics requires tremendous dedication and strength, and I want to express my heartfelt respect and pray for their success. Though times may change, the Olympics continue to light a beacon of hope in people's hearts. Let's all cheer them on.

(Posted: 2012/06/14)