Japan Press Weekly

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2009 December 2 - 8 [ARTS AND SPORTS]

Olympic medalists oppose government budget-slashing measures in field of sports

The government’s cost-cutting decision to reduce 2.7 billion yen in government subsidies is a matter of life and death to the JOC, because the JOC uses the subsidy for improving the abilities of athletes and sending them to international competitions.

Athletes defray their own costs of attending international competitions

In the press conference, Yamamoto Hiroshi, silver medalist in archery at the 2004 Athens Olympics, said, “I have to pay my own costs to attend international competitions other than the Olympic Games.”

Top female weightlifter Miyake Hiromi said, “I feel sorry for my family because in order to continue to compete in weightlifting, I put heavy financial burdens on my family.”

Yamamoto also stated, “Competitors from other countries are always surprised to hear that Japanese competitors have to pay for the cost of attending competitions. I think the Japanese government’s attitude towards sports is totally different from that in other countries’.”

The inadequate budget allocations for sports had also been a problem under the Liberal Democratic Party-Komei government policy. Due to the lack of a firm policy and philosophy to promote sports, the Democratic Party of Japan is about to cut the already inadequate budget for sports.

In France, for example, under the fundamental law of sports stating that advancing the potential of top athletes will enrich culture and become a source of public pride, the government provides a proper budget to create a sports-friendly environment and provide financial guarantee so that athletes and their coaches can have sufficient practice and attend competitions.

Call from athletes

In the press conference, top athletes talked about the importance of sports in their own words. Ota Yuki, silver medalist in men’s fencing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, stated, “Appreciating that we can attend international competitions with public funding, I want to call on the public to consider this matter as a good opportunity to think about the value of sports.”

JOC Secretary General Ichihara Noriyuki referred to the role of sports, saying, “Sports can spread the spirit of fair play throughout society and can thus make a big social contribution.”

As for the spirit of the Olympics, the Olympic Charter acknowledges the social value of sports by stating, “Sports will encourage people to understand each other based on friendship, solidarity, and fair play, and will contribute to establish peace and a better society.” This is another reason for supporting athletes socially.

Now, the government’s sport policy is being fundamentally called into question.
- Akahata, December 3, 2009