Tokyo Olympics 2020

Was it the right decision to hold the Olympic Games 2020 in Tokyo?

Discursive Essay

5 October 2013

Discursive Essay Outline

Essay question: Was it the right decision to host the Olympic Games 2020 in Tokyo?

I. Introduction

Thesis statement: Although the ecological situation and safety problem are to be solved yet, the choice to carry out Olympics in Japan’s capital is good in all aspects.

II. Body

A. (Reason pros 1- topic sentence)

Japan is reliable in economic and financial terms, because its economy one of the world largest and powerful.

1. Japan’s great preparation for the Olympics
2. Japan Olympiad will attract investors
3. Japan Olympiad will benefit the country 's prosperity

B. (Reason pros 2 – topic sentence 2)

Japan had a great success to host the Summer Olympic Games in the past.

1. Past experience allows government to use most of the sportive structures
2. Past experience allows to use highways around the capital city
3. Past experience allows to spend less in financial terms

C. (Reason cons – topic sentence 3)

Japan’ safety problem causes many concerns, because of the recent events.

1. Danger of the contamination of radiation
2. Danger of high seismic activity
3. Government’s unsatisfactory measures to solve the problem

III. Conclusion Holding a great sportive event in Japan’s capital – is the right choice, because it will bring a breath of fresh air to the Japanese and the best hope for a new life.
Name: Arsen Sarsymbayev

Class: Academic Reading and Writing

Was it the right decision to hold the Olympic Games 2020 in Tokyo?
It was a real triumph for the whole Japan, as the Japanese capital, Tokyo, was picked by members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the Olympic Games in 2020, beating out rival cities. Millions of Japanese are happy with this decision and they are sure the world biggest sport event will give them a new hope, which will lead the country to a new level. On the other side, there are a lot of people disappointed by this choice, because of a high probability of danger both for the participants of the Olympiad and for the fans, as environmental disaster occurred on the island state. Although the ecological situation and safety problem are to be solved yet, the choice to carry out Olympics in Japan’s capital is good in all aspects.
Japan is reliable in economic and financial terms, because its economy one of the world largest and powerful. Country is the world 's second largest developed economy and is often ranked among the world 's most innovative countries (IMF, 2012). Firstly, Japan persuaded the Committee to host the Olympics by delivering a great preparation for the presentation, as they have already banked a $4.5bn reserve fund for 2020 Olympics and provided a full financial report of the recent economic state of the country (Guardian, 2013). “…in the end it was Tokyo’s bid that resonated the most with the IOC membership, inviting us to ‘discover tomorrow’ by delivering a well-organized and safe Games that will reinforce the Olympic values while demonstrating the benefits of sport to a new generation.”(Rogge, IOC 2013). Secondly, hosting Olympics will help Japan to attract some national investors, which are waiting to benefit from the international sportive event. Taisei is the construction company which has the highest chance to win the contact to build the 80,000-seat main stadium; Taiheiyo Cement wants benefit from the expected cement demand of 3 million tonnes in the years 2016-19 for the construction of the Olympics facilities; Mitsui Fudosan is a property company with extensive holdings in the Tokyo area, including a number of buildings containing four-star and five-star hotels (Nomura Securities, 2013). Euphoria over the Olympics could help boost consumer confidence and the economic momentum generated by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s pump-priming reform efforts, keeping the stock party going (Bloomberg, 2013). Thirdly, Olympic Games will raise the budget and increase number of tourists to the country, which will solve problems of deflation and unemployment (Dombey, 2013). Tokyo’s government projects that the Games will generate $30 billion in economic benefits for Japan,as the Japanese companies will benefit from rising demand in the construction sector, with an expected boom in sales of consumer electronics and other items (SMBC Nikko Securities, 2013). The government hopes to attract 8.5 million tourists during the event (Kyodo News, 2013), helping wrest the country from a couple decades of debilitating deflation and create more than 150,000 jobs (SMBC Nikko Securities, 2013). Also, Tokyo Olympiad will cost a lot less than previous Games. With an estimated $10 billion bill, the Tokyo cost would be below the amount spent by London for the 2012 games and Beijing for the 2008 Olympiad (Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2013) Finally, the Committee evidently thought it better to go with Japan’s fiscal stability instead of exotic but risky Istanbul or Madrid, whose chances were damaged by Spain’s sickly economy.
Japan had a great success to host the Summer Olympic Games in the past. The Olympiad in 1964 connected millions of people from all over the world after the Second World War, and its incredible experience will be used to make the upcoming Games not less successful. Firstly, Japanese government plans to reconstruct and retrofit most of the structures used in previous Games. For example, Kasumigaoka national stadium will get a dramatic makeover by British architect Zaha Hadid. Working with the structural bones of the old stadium, Hadid will add a retractable roof and other contemporary perks - and save the city millions in the process. Two other 1964 venues, Nippon Budokan and the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, will also be reconstructed for the Games (Frearson, 2013). Secondly, Tokyo won 't need to invest much in new train and bus lines, as for the 1964 Games, Tokyo built a network of highways around the capital city and its first Shinkansen high-speed rail lines, that helps to get to most sportive facilities within a five-mile radius (Gibson, 2013). Thirdly, for the future Olympiad financial spending will be much less than it was in the past. According to a research note from Japanese securities firm, for the 1964 Olympic Games it spent an equivalent amount of 3.6 per cent of Japan 's gross national product (Nomura Securities, 2008). But for the coming 2020 Games, Tokyo would spend only about 0.3 per cent of its 2012 gross domestic product, spread over eight years from 2013 to 2020 (Money Marketing, 2013). Overall, due to the past experience, Tokyo has many advantages over other cities to host the world’s most important sport event.
There are a lot of disputes about Japan’s safety problem, because of the recent events. And consequently many people reacted negatively to the decision to hold the Olympics in Tokyo. Firstly, people don’t want to endanger themselves to the contamination of radiation, caused by the explosion of the reactor on the Fukushima Daiichi plant, that is only 140 miles north away from Tokyo (Woodring, 2011). The ecological disaster, which was the consequence of terrible tsunami and the earthquake, shocked the whole world. A tsunami crashed into the Fukushima plant on March 11, 2011, causing fuel-rod meltdowns, radioactive pollution of air, sea and food. It was the world 's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986. In the two and a half years since a tsunami killed almost 19,000 people and made hundreds of thousands homeless (UNEP, 2011). Secondly, Japan is situated in a region of high seismic activity ( Japan Quake Map, 2012), destructive earthquakes occur several times in a century. The reason of such frequent "seismic events" is that country is located near major tectonic plate boundaries, which is repulsive factor for tourism. Thirdly, people are dissatisfied with how the authorities are trying to fix the problem. The recovery effort has been blighted by bureaucratic bungling and a lack of leadership. Government’s burning of thousands of tons of radioactive waste products into Tokyo Bay caused resentment and controversy in the society, as these methods of purification can seriously hurt athletes’ health, which will be swimming in this water.
Overall, although the Japanese government plans to stabilize the nuclear plant and already has enforced measures to make buildings more resistant to earthquakes, these factors can become very unattractive for sportsmen and tourists in forthcoming Olympics.
In conclusion, the Olympics in Tokyo cannot be spoiled by different ecological threats, as the issue of safety of the whole world will come first. Thereby, the government intends to take the situation under control and take all necessary measures to minimize the risks to provide total security and stability for the Olympics, Olympics, which really need people, to bring them together for one common dream, to show the peace to the world, after terrible disasters, which happened in Japan. Holding a great sportive event in Japan’s capital – is the right choice, because it will bring a breath of fresh air to the Japanese and the best hope for a new life.

References:

Ian Crouch, New Yorker, 2013

Justin McCurry, Guardian, 2013

Amy Frearson, Dezeen magazine, 2013 Tokyo 2020 Olympics to centre around Zaha Hadid 's stadium

Gwynn Guilford, Quartz, 2013

Ben Rumsby, The Telegraph, 2013 Tokyo wins bid to host 2020 Olympic Games

Mark Johanson, International Business Times, 2013

SMBC Nikko Securities, 2013

International Monetary Fund, 2012

Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2013

The Environmental Impact of the Japan Disaster by Doug Woodring – MatterNetwork

Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami UNEP

Japan 's earthquake and tsunami: International trade and global supply chain impacts
Hubert Escaith, Robert Teh, Alexander Keck, Coleman Nee, 28 April 2011

References: Ian Crouch, New Yorker, 2013 Justin McCurry, Guardian, 2013 Amy Frearson, Dezeen magazine, 2013 Tokyo 2020 Olympics to centre around Zaha Hadid 's stadium Gwynn Guilford, Quartz, 2013 Ben Rumsby, The Telegraph, 2013 Tokyo wins bid to host 2020 Olympic Games Mark Johanson, International Business Times, 2013 SMBC Nikko Securities, 2013 International Monetary Fund, 2012 Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2013