Political Economy of the Tokyo Olympics

"Did we really witness the Olympics? Tokyo under the pandemic seems to have quickly forgotten the bizarre experience of mega-events with no spectators. This book is a critical challenge that explores the undisclosed secrets of a megacity still chasing global illusions in the age of digitalization and post-globalization. Yet Tokyo is by no means an exception to the world. The genealogy of mega events continues with London, Paris, and Los Angeles. Readers of this book will learn both the multi-layered urban meaning of mega-events and the new possibilities of cross-disciplinary urban research from the ""thick description"" of the city. Takashi Machimura Professor of Tokyo Keizai University, Professor emeritus of Hitotsubashi University, Former trustee of IJURR Foundation This is a first-rate collection of chapters that critically, analytically, and empirically refutes the view that the Olympic Games are merely a massive sporting event. The focus of most of the chapters is on the way in which ‘Tokyo 2020’ (the Tokyo Summer and Paralympic Games) – unprecedentedly postponed for one year due to the COVID 19 pandemic – was used by various stakeholders to attempt to create an economic stimulus, give urban planning a boost, and sow the seeds for greater capital development in Japan. Primarily the work of Japanese urban geographers, with a more theoretical contribution by Hyun Bang Shin (LSE) on mega-events as spectacles, the other chapters deal with topics such as the rescaling of former global cities, the wastefulness of the construction of elite sports facilities for short periods of time, and the increasing securitization of public space. This book is a great addition to the stock of works that critically reflect on the hosting of the Olympics. John Horne Formerly Professor in the Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan"