For the athletes, where will be the best place to be?
Well, compare the two countries where they have yet to build infrastructure, very sophisticated facilities. So, from time to time, like Brazil, I think it’s good to have a venue for the first time. But Islamic countries, the only thing they share in common is Allah and they are fighting with each other, and they have classes. (Les pays islamistes, la seule chose qu’ils ont en commun est Allah, et ils passent leur temps à se combattre les uns les autres.)
I’m sure people in Turkey want to live long. And if they want to live long, they should create a culture like what we have in Japan. There might be a lot of young people, but if they die young, it doesn’t mean much.
In Promoting His City for 2020 Games, Tokyo’s Bid Chairman Tweaks Others
by Ken Belson
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/27/sports/in-praising-its-olympic-bid-tokyo-tweaks-the-others.html
With less than five months to go before the International Olympic Committee chooses a city to host the 2020 Summer Games, the three remaining bidders — Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo — are increasing their efforts to win over delegates and the public.
The Olympic committee’s rules prohibit bid committee members from directly criticizing other bids. Instead, the bidders often highlight the perceived strengths of their bids to note delicately what they believe to be their rivals’ shortcomings, something known in the communications industry as counter-positioning.
Naoki Inose, the governor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and chairman of the Tokyo 2020 bid, has often done that, highlighting his city’s extensive and efficient transportation system, as well as the financial and technical wherewithal to build first-class sports sites and housing for the athletes. He has also noted that, like Paris and London, Tokyo has hosted the Summer Games before, a claim that Istanbul and Madrid cannot make.
But Inose has also pushed the boundaries of rhetorical gamesmanship with occasionally blunt and candid statements about how his city compares with the competition, particularly Istanbul, which he has suggested is less developed and less equipped to host the Games.
“For the athletes, where will be the best place to be?” Inose said through an interpreter in a recent interview in New York. “Well, compare the two countries where they have yet to build infrastructure, very sophisticated facilities. So, from time to time, like Brazil, I think it’s good to have a venue for the first time. But Islamic countries, the only thing they share in common is Allah and they are fighting with each other, and they have classes.”
Asked later to elaborate on his characterization of Istanbul, a spokesman said Inose meant that simply being the first Islamic country to hold the Olympics was not a good enough reason to be chosen, just as being the first Buddhist country or the first Christian country would not be, either.
The spokesman said Inose did not mean to refer to “class.”
Istanbul is an Olympic finalist because it is an international city in one of the fastest-developing countries in the region. A member of NATO, Turkey straddles Europe and Asia and is a bridge between Christianity and Islam. With its emerging middle class, Turkey has become a political and economic powerhouse in the region.
This is Istanbul’s fifth bid to host the Olympic Games. In a statement, the city’s bid committee declined to address comments made by rival bidders.
“Istanbul 2020 completely respects the I.O.C. guidelines on bidding and therefore it is not appropriate to comment further on this matter,” the statement said.
The International Olympic Committee does not look kindly on overtly harsh attacks by bidders, and occasionally it sends letters of reprimand to those who break with protocol, former bidders said.
According to Article 14 of the Rules of Conduct for bidders: “Cities shall refrain from any act or comment likely to tarnish the image of a rival city or be prejudicial to it. Any comparison with other cities is strictly forbidden.”
Though untoward comments rarely disqualify a bid, they could raise doubts in the minds of I.O.C. delegates about the trustworthiness of a bidder.
“The reason the rule is there is that if someone deviates from it, it triggers a chain reaction,” said Mike Moran, chief spokesman for the United States Olympic Committee from 1978 to 2002 and a senior communications counselor for New York’s bid for the 2012 Summer Games. “The I.O.C. is very serious about their protocols.”
Moran added that negative comments by bidders would probably not hurt a bid, although “you never know how a comment might influence those I.O.C. members.”
At several points in the interview, Inose said that Japanese culture was unique and by implication superior, a widely held view in Japan. He noted that the political scientist Samuel P. Huntington wrote in his book “The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order” that Japan was unlike any other culture.
Inose also pointed to polls that showed 70 percent of Tokyoites in favor of hosting the Summer Games, up from 47 percent last year. The well-received London Games, he said, have helped generate enthusiasm and confidence that Tokyo can host a similarly successful event.
Tokyo, he added, is exceptional because the Imperial Palace, which is largely off-limits to residents and visitors, forms the city’s core while bustling activity surrounds it. “The central part of Tokyo has nothingness,” he said. “This is a unique way that society achieved modernization.”
Inose brushed aside the notion that Olympic delegates may favor Istanbul’s bid because Turkey has a far younger population than Japan and thus is fertile ground for developing the next generation of Olympic enthusiasts. While population growth has stalled in Japan, the population of Tokyo has grown because of an influx of younger people, he said. He added that although Japan’s population is aging, its elderly are reasonably healthy.
“We used to say that if you are poor, you have lots of kids, but we have to build infrastructure to accommodate a growing population,” Inose said. “What’s important is that seniors need to be athletic. If you’re healthy, even if you get older, health care costs will go down. The average age is 85 for women and 80 for men, so that demonstrates how stress-free” Japan’s society is.
“I’m sure people in Turkey want to live long,” he added. “And if they want to live long, they should create a culture like what we have in Japan. There might be a lot of young people, but if they die young, it doesn’t mean much.”
Inose has drawn distinctions between Japan and other cultures in other settings, too. When he visited London in January to promote Tokyo’s bid, he said Tokyo and London were sophisticated and implied that Istanbul was not.
“I don’t mean to flatter, but London is in a developed country whose sense of hospitality is excellent,” Inose told reporters. “Tokyo’s is also excellent. But other cities, not so much.”
Hiroko Tabuchi contributed reporting.
猪瀬直樹/inosenaoki @inosenaoki
NYタイムズ記事の件。他の立候補都市を批判する意図はまったく無く、このようなインタビューの文脈と異なる記事が出たことは非常に残念だ。
猪瀬直樹東京都知事が２０２０年夏季五輪招致のライバル、イスタンブール（トルコ）を批判したと疑われる発言をした問題で、発言を報じた米紙ニューヨーク・タイムズは２９日、猪瀬氏による「真意が正しく伝わっていない」との批判に反論し「記事には完全な自信がある」とする編集幹部の談話を明らかにした。
同紙スポーツエディターのジェイソン・ストールマン氏は記事について「猪瀬知事をインタビューした記者２人は流ちょうな日本語を話す。知事は自身の通訳を用意しており、記事に引用した言葉はその通訳によるもの。通訳の言葉は録音している」と説明した。
２７日付の同紙は猪瀬氏のインタビューでの「イスラム教国が共有するのはアラー（神）だけで、互いにけんかしており、階級がある」とする発言を伝えた。猪瀬氏は「真意が正しく伝わっていない」「インタビューの文脈と異なる記事」などと反論していた。（共同）
JO 2020: un dérapage japonais qui pourrait coûter cher
JEUX OLYMPIQUES 2020
http://www.nipponconnection.fr/jo-2020-un-derapage-japonais-qui-pourrait-couter-cher/
A un peu plus de quatre mois du choix du CIO de la ville hôte des Jeux d’été de 2020, la candidature japonaise vient de se découvrir un nouveau point faible. Inattendu mais plutôt fâcheux : son président.
Naoki Inose, le gouverneur de Tokyo, s’est laissé aller à critiquer le dossier d’Istanbul, principal rival dans la course aux JO, à l’occasion d’une interview accordée au New York Times. Un dérapage verbal qui pourrait avoir des conséquences néfastes pour Tokyo 2020.
Au-delà de la manière, pas vraiment fair-play, et de la nature des propos, assez peu élégante, la démarche de Naoki Inose pose un problème sérieux pour la candidature japonaise : elle enfreint la règle 14 du code de conduite du CIO pour les villes candidates aux Jeux.
Une règle très stricte, comme tout ce qui émane de l’institution olympique, où il est écrit noir sur blanc et sans nuance qu’il est interdit à une candidature de critiquer d’une façon ou d’une autre une ou plusieurs de ses rivales.
Aucun commentaire pouvant ternir l’image d’un concurrent n’est toléré. Pire : il est même interdit d’oser la moindre comparaison avec un autre dossier. En clair, les candidats peuvent parler d’eux autant qu’ils le veulent, mais en se gardant bien de s’exprimer sur la concurrence.
A New York, Naoki Inose a oublié cette règle. Interrogé par deux journalistes du quotidien, tous deux excellents spécialistes du Japon et parlant le japonais, le gouverneur a magnifié les atouts de la candidature de Tokyo, vantant les mérites de la culture japonaise, de son hospitalité et la qualité des infrastructures sportives déjà existantes.
Surtout, le dirigeant asiatique a critiqué Istanbul et la Turquie. Reprenant de volée l’un des atouts mis en avant dans le dossier turc, à savoir la jeunesse de sa population, Naoki Inose a expliqué : « Ils ont peut-être beaucoup de jeunes, mais s’ils meurent jeunes, cela n’a pas beaucoup d’intérêt. »
Autre propos du gouverneur de Tokyo contraire aux règles du CIO, cette remarque d’ordre religieux : « Les pays islamistes, la seule chose qu’ils ont en commun est Allah, et ils passent leur temps à se combattre les uns les autres. »
A Tokyo, les propos du gouverneur ont plongé l’équipe de candidature dans un certain embarras. L’un de ses porte-paroles a tenté de calmer le jeu en expliquant au New York Times que Naoki Inose n’avait pas voulu critiquer Istanbul, et que Tokyo avait le « plus grand respect » pour ses deux rivales.
A Istanbul, l’équipe de candidature a joué profil bas, se contentant d’un bref communiqué assurant ne vouloir faire aucun commentaire. A Lausanne, au siège du CIO, la commission d’éthique devrait se pencher prochainement sur l’affaire et discuter d’une éventuelle réprimande à adresser aux Japonais.
Une chose est sûre : les propos tenus par Naoki Inose lors de cette interview réalisée à New York trahissent une forme d’inquiétude de la candidature japonaise face à la progression du dossier turc. Tokyo craint Istanbul. Au point de commettre certaines erreurs.