Takashi Tsunoda, president of Sumisho Hotel in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi district, on July 28 (Takaya Katada)
The Olympic experience for a Tokyo hotel designated as an accommodation facility for staff members of the Games has been filled with frustration and a sense of emptiness.
First, there are all the no-shows.
The Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games made 101 reservations at the Sumisho Hotel in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward for period from July 23 to Aug. 1.
Only five of the guests showed up.
“I feel empty,” the owner of the 83-room hotel in the Nihonbashi district said of the situation.
LGBT athletes shine at Tokyo Games, set sterling example for more inclusive society
LGBT athletes shine at Tokyo Games,.
A record number of athletes who openly identify as LGBT are competing at the Tokyo Games, which are being conducted under the banner of “diversity and harmony.”
Their inspiring showing at the Games has supporters cheering not only their athletic achievements, but also their contributions toward eliminating discrimination and prejudice against sexual minorities in a wider society that has been slower to embrace such individuals outside of the sporting arena.
■ Empowering example
“I feel incredibly proud to say that I’m a gay man and also an Olympic champion,” said Thomas Daley, 27, during a press conference after winning gold for Great Britain in the synchronized 10-meter platform dive on July 26.
It is hoped that the Olympics will increase people-to-people exchanges between China and Japan, add new vigour to bilateral ties and contribute to the development of the Olympics, says the writer. - AP
BEIJING (China Daily/ANN): After a year-long delay, the opening ceremony on July 23 finally kicked off the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games amid the still-raging Covid-19 pandemic.
The Tokyo Olympics has attracted added attention worldwide because it is the first major global sports event to be held after the pandemic broke out last year, and Japan has encountered four waves of novel coronavirus infections and the response of local health authorities has not been consistent.
Banks
is an Olympian, a World Athletics Council member, a former world record holder in triple jump, and president of HSJ Incorporated. He lives in Carlsbad.
I am sitting in my hotel room in Tokyo having finished two days of World Athletics’ Council meetings and reflecting on what a very different Olympic Games we are having. These may be the least attended Games, but millions of people are watching. And what an Olympics it has been so far.
I have a very unique perspective on these Games. I am well-versed on the Olympic Movement, the country of Japan and the experience of an athlete at the Olympic Games.
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