Keywords

10.1 Introduction

This chapter examines the historical transition of Tokyo, Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and Tokyo’s tourism as dynamics of changing faces of Tokyo. Tokyo has been Japan’s capital since the beginning of the Meiji period (1868–1912). Tokyo Metropolitan Prefecture (TMP) is located in the Kanto region, an eastern part of the Honshu (main) Island. TMP forms the Greater Tokyo Area (GTA) together with its neighbouring prefectures, namely Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama. Today, TMP consists of 23 special wards (ku) (SWT), 26 cities (shi), 5 towns (cho) and 8 villages (mura). TMP is the largest prefecture in Japan in terms of its population and gross domestic product (GDP). SWT is significant and discussed throughout this chapter, because 23 SWT has been the political and economic centre of Tokyo and the whole of Japan since 1868. The population of TMP is around 13.89 million as of April 2019 (Tokyo Metropolitan Government 2019). Although Japan’s population started decreasing since 2015, those of TMP and other three prefectures in GTA have been increasing as social increase has been exceeding natural decrease. In 2015, the GDP of TMP accounts for 19.09% of Japan’s GDP (Cabinet Office 2019).

10.2 Tokyo from the Late Nineteenth Century to Tokyo 1964

As a result of the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan’s national system was totally altered. The owner of state power was changed from shogun (general) to tenno (emperor). Along with this, Tokyo was designated as Japan’s capital, although the capital has never been ‘officially’ moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. Consequently, Tokyo has been functioning as the capital of Japan since 1868. Also since around that time, Tokyo has been developed and regenerated physically and spiritually, with constant change reflecting the changing times. Being Japan’s new capital has since signified the accumulation of a range of industries, resources and opportunities for the city. The 23 SWT area of the city most notably has benefitted from enhanced existing infrastructures and facilities and newly built ones. Initially, major examples of large development projects in Tokyo were confirmed mainly in three central wards of today’s Tokyo (Chiyoda, Chuo and Minato), particularly in the Chiyoda ward.

For example, the first train service officially began in 1872 between Tokyo and Yokohama, and the original Shimbashi station was built in the Minato ward in 1872 as the terminal station in Tokyo. Forming of a district for Central Government offices was also an extensive urban planning project during the Meiji period. At that time, the Central Governmental quarter (kancho-gai) was divided into two boroughs, Otemachi (Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Home Affairs and Board of Audit) and Kasumigaseki (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Army and Supreme Court of Judicature of Japan) (see Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism 2014). Both Otemachi and Kasumigaseki are located in the Chiyoda ward. In addition, state guest houses, Rokumei-kan (Chiyoda) and Geihin-kan Akasaka-rikyu (Minato), were completed in 1883 and 1909, respectively. Both were Western-style buildings and they intended to welcome and entertain ambassadors of foreign countries residing in Tokyo and state guests visiting Japan. The changes in Tokyo’s landscapes in the Meiji era were not limited to the aforementioned various examples of ‘developments’, but also included ‘redevelopments’ and/or ‘regenerations’. As asserted by several scholars (e.g. Siodla 2015; MacKenzie 2017), great fires and wildfires can be the primary reasons for initiating redevelopment works and/or regeneration of a certain district or a whole city. In Tokyo, the Ginza district in the Chuo ward experienced two great fires at the beginning of the Meiji period (1869 and 1872). The Meiji government utilised these fires as opportunities to regenerate Ginza as a Western-style quarter with red brick buildings and modern atmosphere (Tokyo Ginza Official n.d.).

During the subsequent Taisho period (1912–1926), Tokyo’s urban development rapidly advanced. In 1914, for instance, Tokyo Station (Chiyoda) was completed and became the starting point of the Tokaido Main Line connecting the Kanto region (Tokyo) and the Kansai region (Kobe). Construction of the current National Diet Building (Chiyoda) commenced in 1920 and was completed in 1936 (Showa period: 1926–1989). It has been noted that the majority of Japanese people agree that the Great Kanto earthquake (magnitude 7.9) which occurred in 1923 was the most critical incident during the Taisho period regarding alterations of Tokyo’s landscapes and its regeneration (Schencking 2008). This earthquake can also be regarded as Tokyo’s first major disaster of the twentieth century (Kitsnik 2016), as this disaster significantly changed the urban landscape with buildings, houses and transportation infrastructure heavily damaged. Cities and towns in Kanagawa prefecture, typically Yokohama, were also destroyed. The earthquake sparked a massive fire which killed the majority of the 105,000 victims (Ishigaki et al. 2013). Despite such devastating destruction, the reconstruction of Tokyo was planned and promptly conducted, led by the Central Government as a foremost national project. As Ward (2010) implies, one of the key advantages of the top-down approach such as government-led redevelopment is its efficiency, although this approach may not give enough opportunities to local communities to express their opinions. According to Nakabayashi (2006), the main recovering period from the damages of the Great Kanto earthquake was between 1923 and 1930. This also implies that the rebuilding of Tokyo was carried out over two different eras, Taisho and Showa. By the end of the Taisho period (1926), metropolitan bus services started operating with two routes in 1924 and a railway loop line in central Tokyo (Yamanote Line) opened in 1925 (Tokyo Metropolitan Government 2018). The reconstruction process occurred alongside land-readjustment projects (Nakabayashi 2006). A series of events and processes associated with spatial transformation triggered the move of people and relocation of factories and religious buildings from central Tokyo to its suburban areas (Nakabayashi 2006).

As stated above, Tokyo recovered promptly from the widespread devastation caused by the Great Kanto earthquake. In the early Showa period, Tokyo was advanced further as the capital of Japan. Such revitalisation and further development of Tokyo can be testified by the inauguration of the first metro service in Japan (the Ginza Line by today’s Tokyo Metro) (1927), completion of Tokyo International (Haneda) Airport (1931), and openings of the Tsukiji Market (1935) and the Port of Tokyo (1941) (Tokyo Metropolitan Government 2018). However, World War II (WWII) broke out in 1939 and the Pacific War began in 1941, which cast a dark shadow over a newly recovered Tokyo (and Japan as a whole). Tokyo had been constantly bombed by the United States Armed Forces (USAF) since November 1944 until the end of WWII. Of these, the bombing executed on 10 March 1945 was exceptionally grand-scale, generally called the ‘Bombing of Tokyo’. These bombings of Tokyo can be understood as the second main disaster Tokyo faced in the twentieth century (Kitsnik 2016), undoing the previous restoration efforts.

In 1936, Tokyo was officially selected to host the 1940 Summer Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee. It should have been a memorial Olympic Games, and the first Olympic Games hosted by a non-Western nation. However, Japan gave up the right to hold the Games largely due to military opposition. After WWII, Tokyo and Japan as a whole, particularly Hiroshima and Nagasaki, began to work quickly to recover from the extensive damages of WWII. Post-war, Tokyo officials and planners began work towards bidding to host the Summer Olympic Games. Thanks to such efforts, in 1959, Tokyo was chosen as the host city of 1964 Summer Olympic Games. Key examples of Tokyo’s redevelopment from the end of WWII (1945) and Tokyo 1964 can be summarised as follows:

  • 1949 April—Tokyo Metropolitan University was established.

  • 1956 August—Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium was completed.

  • 1957 February—The first building of Tokyo Metropolitan City Hall was built in Marunouchi (Chiyoda ward).

  • 1957 December—Landfilling operation of Yumenoshima the disposal site started.

  • 1960 December—Toei started operating their first metro service (part of today’s Asakusa Line).

  • 1964 September—Tokyo Monorail was opened between Hamamatsucho and Tokyo International Airport.

  • 1964 October—Tokaido Shinkansen was opened between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka Stations in Osaka prefecture just before the opening ceremony of Tokyo 1964 (Tokyo Metropolitan Government 2018).

In addition to the developments listed above, more transport infrastructures, various facilities for competitions and accommodation facilities were built, expanded or renovated for Tokyo 1964; examples of such facilities include:

  • Metropolitan Highway and other main roads in and around Tokyo

  • Nippon Budokan arena (Chiyoda ward)

  • Tokyo National Stadium (Shinjuku ward)

  • Komazawa Olympic Park (Meguro ward and Setagaya ward)

  • Tokyo Prince Hotel (Minato ward)

  • Hotel New Otani (Chiyoda ward)

  • Hotel Okura Tokyo (Minato ward).

These rapid redevelopments of Tokyo’s landscapes were led primarily by the national government, and financially supported by what is referred to as the Japanese economic miracle (kodo keizai seicho) (1955–1973). The self-pride of the Japanese government at that time can be summarised by a famous phrase, ‘Japan no longer suffers from the aftermath of WWII’ (included in Japan’s white paper on economy, issued July 1956).

The Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games represented a fantastic opportunity for Japan to showcase its WWII recovery efforts, and brand the nation as a ‘new’ developed country to the global audience. Concerning the groundwork for the Games, it should be noted that a number of imperial and military properties were converted to sports and accommodation facilities in the preparation stages for Tokyo 1964. Such transfigurations in both tangible (e.g. cityscapes) and intangible (e.g. purposes) aspects of the properties are key features of the development and regeneration of Tokyo soon after WWII. 1964 is also a significant year in relation to outbound and inbound tourism. In 1964, the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) began to collect data on annual numbers of overseas tourists arriving in Japan as well as Japanese tourists heading abroad. As of 1964, the former was 352,832 and the latter was 221,309 (Japan National Tourism Organisation 2018a). Needless to say, these numbers were much smaller than those of 2017, 28,691,073 and 17,889,292, respectively (Japan National Tourism Organisation 2018a). The next section (Sect. 3), in contrast, investigates the regeneration of Tokyo from 1964 to 2020 (the timespan between the city’s two Summer Olympic Games).

10.3 From Tokyo 1964 to Tokyo 2020

The nature of Olympic and Paralympic Games can be comprehended as ‘planned events’, although researchers sometimes suggest different typologies exist (e.g. Getz 2005; Connell and Page 2015). Olympic and Paralympic Games are categorised as ‘sports competitions’ according to Getz (2005), whereas Connell and Page (2015) would call these ‘hallmark events’. There are many possible benefits and drawbacks to hosting hallmark sporting events like the Olympic and Paralympic Games. For instance, holding international mega-events can be a great honour for those who are supporters of a destination hosting the events (Hiller 1998), as pride in place is an important intangible benefit of tourism- and event-led regeneration efforts (Wise 2016). For instance, in the case of Beijing 2008, hosting a hallmark event could only have limited impacts on the city’s brand from the viewpoint of local residents and visitors to the city (Zhang and Zhao 2009). However, concerning Tokyo 1964, given the rapid efforts to redevelop Japan, hosting a mega-event was deemed crucial for the nation as it helped boost people’s confidence and pride in their country (The Japan Times 2013). This must have been especially crucial for Japanese people in the post-war time as most of them were totally devastated by the damage of WWII and lost confidence in themselves and their nation.

Tokyo kept changing even after Tokyo 1964 as the country benefited from continuous economic growth and development. The Japanese economic miracle (kodo keizai seicho) that commenced in 1955 continued well beyond Tokyo 1964. This signifies that a large number of Japanese people moved to Tokyo, especially SWT. This phenomenon had been particularly prominent in the 1960s and early 1970s. This social issue denotes that at that point the supply of new houses within SWT could not meet the ever-increasing demands for new houses, as SWT house prices significantly increased. To keep up with the housing demands, what resulted was private housing companies developed new residential areas in suburban Tokyo (but without having a well-considered or comprehensive urban development plan). This situation was criticised as ‘urban sprawl’ (Sorensen 2000) and a key concern of TMP. Between 1963 and 1966, TMP worked on planning ‘Tama New Town’. This new residential complex shared an extensive area in the western part of TMP, extending across four different cities: Inagi, Hachioji, Machida and Tama. The plan here was to prevent uncontrolled urban sprawl by providing new residents with quality houses at affordable prices. This extensive housing development plan was officially approved in 1966 and stared accepting new residents in 1971 (Tokyo Metropolitan Government 2018). In the middle of the period referred to as kodo keizai seicho, it was natural that the number of cars and traffic accidents increased within TMP, particularly within SWT, as an increasing number of people began to reside and work there. Considering this condition, in August 1970, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government pedestrianised the centres of Ginza, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro and Asakusa districts, all within SWT, on Sundays and public holidays during the daytime (Eguchi 2014). Pedesterisation helped energise the designated quarters by attracting more people to walkable and safe car-free environments. Despite this unique planning approach to pedestrianise spaces, one challenge is that it can worsen traffic congestion in immediate surrounding areas. Today, such temporary pedesterisation of Tokyo’s urban centres can be seen in three different SWT districts: Akihabara, Ginza and Shinjuku (Metropolitan Police Department 2019). Figure 10.1 shows people enjoying the pedesterised Ginza district on a Sunday. Another important theme that should be discussed here is environmental pollution. Keihin Industrial Belt (KIB) has been one of Japan’s traditional industrial areas extending over TMP, and Kawasaki city and Yokohama city in Kanagawa prefecture. An increasing number of factories had been established in KIB, especially in Kawasaki, during the 1960s and 1970s. Together with this, diverse environmental problems emerged. Of these issues, discharged water and smoke from factories were particularly serious, and relevant organisations were sued by a group of sufferers from health problems and their (bereaved) families in 1982 (Kawasaki Pollution Litigation).

Fig. 10.1
figure 1

(photograph by Takamitsu Jimura)

Pedestrianised Ginza district

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In Japan, it is generally agreed that the economic miracle ended in 1973. It is also safely stated that there were some chief reasons why the Japanese economic miracle finished. The Nixon Shock occurred in 1971, and this sparked recession driven by endaka (the strong Japanese yen against other major currencies). The Oil Shock hit Japan’s economy in 1973 and Japan experienced high inflation rates in 1974. Bank of Japan decided to raise the official discount rate to control the inflation. In this year, Japan experienced negative economic growth, a first for the country since WWII. Nevertheless, Japan’s economy started growing again from 1975. Concerning Tokyo’s regeneration, infrastructures continued to greatly expand since the 1970s. For example, the third subway line by Toei, the Toei Shinjuku Line, opened in 1978. As the economy of TMP, particularly SWT, had grown and the number of residents living there had also increased, SWT had begun to suffer from waste problems. Within SWT, historically, most incineration plants and waste disposal facilities had been located in the Koto ward. However, Koto and its residents could not cope with numerous issues caused by an ever-increasing amount of wastes such as fetidness, traffic congestion and waste fires in the early 1950s. Since that time, therefore, TMP had made efforts to build an incineration plant in each SWT. Although there have been several disagreements regarding this plan, there are 21 incineration plants in SWT, including two currently under reconstruction, as of September 2019 as a result of a long process for conciliation. Japan’s economy peaked in the late 1980s. In the view of ordinary people, however, Japan has been suffering from continuous recession and deflation since that time (Takahashi 2019).

The impacts of this deflation on GTA seem to have been rather limited. On the other hand, this has been a serious issue for most of other prefectures of Japan, negatively affecting the areas and people living there together with a lack of job opportunities, out migration of young people, depopulation and an ageing society. Tokyo 2020 is expected to break through such a stagnant situation, although it is not clear how the hallmark event taking place mainly in Tokyo and the Kanto region can contribute to revitalisation of other regions of Japan (especially rural and/or remote areas). Together with the abovementioned regeneration, a wide variety of sport facilities were developed, expanded or renovated. Of these, several facilities from the 1964 Games will be used as venues in 2020. The ongoing major regeneration includes construction of a new main stadium (Shinjuku and Shibuya wards), redevelopment of urban districts (e.g. Ariake and Toyosu districts) and verticalisation of buildings (e.g. Marunouchi district).

According to Tokyo 2020 (n.d.a), the majority of venues for the Olympic and Paralympic Games are situated within the GTA area, and most of them are located within TMP. Tokyo 2020 (n.d.a) divided the core region where the venues are situated into two zones, namely ‘Heritage Zone’ and ‘Tokyo Bay Zone’. The former includes several historic districts and can present ‘traditional elements’ of Tokyo to the athletes and audience, whilst the latter chiefly consists of ‘modern components’ of Tokyo and show them to their visitors. In total, 42 venues are set for Olympic Games and 21 venues are prepared for Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020 n.d.a). 20 out of 21 venues for Paralympic Games are also utilised as those for Olympic Games. The only venue used for the Paralympic Games specifically is Makuhari Messe Hall C, used as playing fields of goalball (Tokyo 2020 n.d.a); Makuhari Messe Halls A and B are utilised for both Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Olympic and Paralympic Village where athletes stay during the Games period is located on the border of Heritage Zone and Tokyo Bay Zone, and this should be helpful for the athletes to get to their competition venue easily.

After the Games, residential buildings of the village are planned to be renovated and sold as apartments together with newly built tower blocks (Tokyo 2020 n.d.a). This idea represents a sustainable use of new infrastructure, originally developed for Games in the long run, if all goes as planned. The magnitude of such a sustainable usage of the infrastructure for the Olympic and Paralympic Games have been well recognised, primarily because many host cities failed to utilise the facilities constructed for the event in an effective way after the Games ended, for instance, observed following Sydney 2000 (e.g. Mangan 2008) and Athens 2004 (e.g. Gratton and Preuss 2008). Tokyo’s organising committee fully acknowledges problems and issues surrounding future sustainability. To this regard, the organising committee developed the Tokyo 2020 Games Sustainability Plan, intending to make a contribution to achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through the delivery of the event (Tokyo 2020 n.d.b). One of the actions adopted in the preparation stage of the Games to fulfil this objective is ‘utilising existing venues’ (Tokyo 2020 n.d.b). Such existing venues contain, for instance, Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium (under refurbishment between July 2018 and January 2020) used for table tennis (Olympics and Paralympics), Yoyogi National Gymnasium for handball (Olympics) and Badminton and wheelchair rugby (Paralympics), Nippon Budokan for judo (Olympics and Paralympics) and karate (Olympics), Tokyo International Forum for weightlifting (Olympics) and powerlifting (Paralympics), and Equestrian Park (Tokyo 1964 Olympics legacy venue) for equestrian (dressage, eventing and jumping) (Olympics) and equestrian (Paralympics) (Tokyo 2020 n.d.a).

On the contrary, several venues have been newly built mainly in Tokyo Bay Zone. Osada et al. (2015) assert that Tokyo 2020 can bring positive economic impacts to Japan through an increase in public and private investments for relevant construction. Such investments include not only the investments for direct demands (e.g. construction or renovation of Tokyo 2020 venues) but also those for indirect demands (e.g. creation or makeover of accommodation facilities, redevelopment of urban cores, commercial facilities and traffic infrastructure) (see Osada et al. 2015). Examples of the aforementioned new facilities in Tokyo Bay Zone include Ariake Gymnastics Centre for gymnastics (Olympics) and boccia (Paralympics) (see Fig. 10.2), Tokyo Aquatics Centre for aquatics (swimming, diving and artistic swimming) (Olympics) and aquatics (swimming) (Paralympics), and Ariake Arena for volleyball (Olympics) and wheelchair basketball (Paralympics) (Tokyo 2020 n.d.a). Of these venues, Ariake Gymnastics Centre is makeshift and planned to be demolished after the Games (Tokyo 2020 n.d.a). In contrast, the most noticeable example of newly built venue located in the Heritage Zone is the Olympic Stadium (see Fig. 10.3). Initially, the design of Dame Zaha Hadid had been adopted, but was withdrawn later, mainly due to its construction costs. At the end of the day, the design of Kengo Kuma was employed and this design requires the use of a lot of timber for construction. The usage of the Olympic Stadium after Tokyo 2020 is also somewhat unclear (as of September 2019). Originally, it was said that the stadium’s running track would be removed after the Games, and the stadium would be used exclusively for ball games. Later, however, it became clear that the track would not be removed after Tokyo 2020, aiming to maximise the use of the venue for ball games (especially football), athletics, and entertainment events (e.g. concerts). As of September 2019, it remains difficult for planners to decide which would be a better usage in terms of economic and socio-cultural sustainability of the stadium.

Fig. 10.2
figure 2

(photograph by Takamitsu Jimura)

Ariake Gymnastics Centre

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Fig. 10.3
figure 3

(photograph by Takamitsu Jimura)

Olympic Stadium

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10.4 Tourism and Tokyo 2020

Japanese international travel was liberalised in April 1964, and in the same year JNTO started collecting data about annual numbers of outbound and inbound tourists. According to Leiper (1979)’s Tourism System model, there are three different regions in tourism activities, namely tourist-generating regions, transit routes and tourist-destination regions. Traditionally, Japan had been recognised much more as a tourist-generating region rather than a tourist-destination region. It is evidenced by the fact that the number of outbound tourists had been larger than that of inbound tourists for more than 40 years (1971–2014). 2015 was the first year in the past 45 years that the latter (19,737,409) surpassed the former (16,213,766) (Japan National Tourism Organisation 2019). Regarding the tourism balance of payment for Japan, 2014 was the year that Japan’s tourism balance of payments turned positive first time in 55 years (Nikkei Asian Review 2015), thanks to the recent and still ongoing inbound tourism boom (Jimura 2019). Along with recent inbound tourism growth and diverse cultural heritage of Tokyo and Japan, Tokyo 2020 is expected to trigger further prosperity of Tokyo and revitalisation of Japan as a whole. In fact, Osada et al. (2015) also argue that Japan can obtain economic benefits via an increase in the demand of inbound tourism.

Of 47 prefectures of Japan, Tokyo can be regarded as the prefecture that benefits most significantly from inbound tourism. According to Japan National Tourism Organisation (2018b), 46.2% of inbound tourists visited TMP. This highest proportion is followed by Osaka prefecture in the Kansai region (38.7%), Chiba prefecture in the Kanto region (36.0%) and Kyoto prefecture in the Kansai region (25.9%) (Japan National Tourism Organisation 2018b). As the proportion of inbound tourists visiting the fifth most popular prefecture, Fukuoka (in the Kyushu region), is 9.8%, it could be stated that most inbound tourists visited only the Kanto region (particularly Tokyo and Chiba) and/or Kansai region (especially Osaka and Kyoto), and visits made by overseas tourists do not appear to have been evenly distributed across different regions of Japan. In addition, it would also be a concern for Japan’s tourism industry and people working there that overseas tourists’ average length of stay has been decreasing from 6.3 to 5.2 nights between 2012 and 2017 (Japan National Tourism Organisation 2018c). Moreover, the travel spending per foreign traveller while they stay in Japan has also started shrinking in 2016 and then in 2017 (¥176,167 (JPY) in 2015, ¥155,896 in 2016 and ¥153,921 in 2017).

The figures noted in the previous paragraph are a worrying trend for Japan’s tourism industry. Agarwal and Yochum (1999) state that visitors will spend more during their trip as their length of stay increases. Therefore, it could be stated that their point is backed up by the overall trend of international tourists coming to Japan between 2015 and 2017. Nevertheless, it could still be concluded that Japan, including Tokyo, has been enjoying its huge success in inbound tourism and its economic benefits as a way to obtain foreign currency. It could also ensure that Tokyo 2020 will be able to boost inbound tourism and the level of its economic benefits even further at least until the Games finish. However, it is rather doubtful that such positive economic impacts can be really brought to the regions outside TMP, GTA or the Kanto region. That is mainly because the number of competitions held at the venues outside Kanto is limited. Only some of football and baseball games and cycling competitions are held outside the Kanto region, in Hokkaido, Miyagi, Fukushima and Shizuoka prefectures (Tokyo 2020 n.d.a). In October 2019, the marathon and race-walking were decided to be moved from Tokyo to Hokkaido for cooler climate.

When Tokyo 2020 is examined in relation to tourism, socio-cultural and environmental impacts as well as economic impacts need to be considered. Foremost, current issues in tourism, typically ‘overtourism’ must be discussed, and it is deeply associated with both socio-cultural and environmental impacts. Nowadays, overtourism is a global concern (see Dodds and Butler 2019). In Japan, Kyoto is a destination that has been most struggling with overtourism. According to the author’s observations, however, some districts in Tokyo have also suffered from overtourism, which leads to both socio-cultural and environmental issues. The most representative example of overtourism in Tokyo should be the Asakusa district. Asakusa is a famous historic district in Tokyo and its main visitor attractions are Senso-ji temple and a range of shops on Nakamise (the main approach to the temple). The author has visited this area annually since 2012 and found that the number of international tourists has increased year-on-year, with Japanese visitors and local people now being excluded. Tokyo 2020 may escalate this problem and Japanese people may start to avoid visiting Asakusa. In fact, some Japanese visitors have already begun avoiding Kyoto (as of 2019). Eating while walking (tabearuki) is seen as a breach of manners in the Asakusa district, but many international tourists are ignorant of local customs. Tokyo 2020 can be used to make visitors aware of important local manners. In the face of the Games, Tokyo seems to have also been ‘cleaning up’ its urban areas by clamping down on illegal adult-entertainment shops and touts, and removing homeless people in an indirect way. TMP would deem these as social pathologies, and thus should be ‘hidden’ from international tourists. While some see this approach as understandable; however, in the author’s view this is not the authentic Tokyo, and international tourists may lose out on chances to see the real Tokyo. Of the abovementioned socio-cultural issues, tabearuki is a main factor concerning major environmental issues, rubbish on the street. Some overseas tourists complain about the small number of rubbish bins at Japan’s tourist destinations. That is because these destinations expect tourists to eat or drink on site or take their rubbish back home. If Tokyo 2020 venues are not planned to be demolished after the Games, they should be fully utilised in a sustainable way. A variety of tourism activities and events can make a good contribution to the achievement of this crucial task.

During Tokyo 2020, in addition to Asakusa, overseas tourists will go to other districts in TMP that are relatively unknown to them at the moment. It is likely then that areas close to main event venues will see increased visitation. Such places would include Sendagaya where Olympic Stadium and Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium are located (Heritage Zone) and Ariake where four competitions venues are situated (Tokyo Bay Zone). Sendagaya is also relatively close to two large urban districts of Tokyo, Shibuya and Shinjuku; hence, there would be a high chance for Sendagaya to be a new tourist honeypot due to Tokyo 2020, although it may be a temporary phenomenon depending chiefly on how Olympic Stadium and Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium are managed after the Games. Currently, Ariake itself cannot be seen as a popular tourist destination. However, it is accessible from more established tourist destinations such as Odaiba and Toyosu by Yurikamome the automated guideway transit service. Odaiba is acknowledged as a founded tourist destination full with ‘modern’ visitor attractions by international tourists as well as Japanese ones. Odaiba also has the Games venue, Odaiba Marine Park, where aquatics (marathon swimming) (Olympics) and triathlon (Olympics and Paralympics) are held. On the other hand, Toyosu has been developed quickly since 2000 chiefly due to accumulation of newly built high-rise apartment buildings. They have exclusively changed the landscape of this bay area and a new residential district has emerged. The Toyosu Market took over a role as Tokyo’s main wholesale market from the Tsukiji Market and opened in October 2018. Since that time, the Toyosu Market has also been functioning as a popular visitor attraction where people can enjoy exhibitions, galleries and onsite restaurants like the Tsukiji Market did. For this reason, it could be stated that the presence of the Market added a nature as a tourist destination to Toyosu. Tokyo 2020 and the four Games venues located in Toyosu will be able to encourage more visitors to explore Odaiba, Toyosu and Ariake together, and it could enhance the strength of ties amongst these three districts in Tokyo Bay Zone. Like Sendagaya’s case, the success as an entire area as a large tourist destination would be affected by the attractiveness of Ariake, including the use of the venues, after Tokyo 2020.

10.5 Conclusion

Tokyo has been the capital of Japan for more than one and a half century since 1868. Since then, it has been kept changing its faces through continuous development and regeneration, as the city recovered from the great earthquake and WWII bombings, and through the Japanese economic miracle to deflation since the 1990s. Concerning the modern history of Tokyo, 1964 and 2020 are significant when we look at changing spaces in relation to Tokyo’s development and regeneration. Tokyo 1964 not only advanced the development of and improvement in key infrastructure such as traffic, accommodation and sports facilities in and around Tokyo but also acted as a superb opportunity for Japan to present its recovery from WWII and ability to successfully host the most widely publicised international mega-event. 1964 is also an important year for Japan’s tourism. In this year, overseas travels were liberalised and JNTO commenced to gather the data on Japan’s inbound and outbound tourism. Japan’s economy achieved its pinnacle in the late 1980s. Since that time, the majority of ordinary people would have never experienced an economic boom. Under such a situation, Tokyo and GTA have not been seriously affected by such negative economic conditions and have grown further as a megalopolis of Japan, attracting young people and businesses from other regions of Japan and foreign countries, and constructing and renovating a variety of infrastructure and related services. Furthermore, Tokyo and Chiba prefectures must have obtained significant economic merits, thanks to an increase in the number of overseas tourists visiting there. On the contrary, overall, other regions of Japan have been economically stagnating or declining for more than the past 30 years, although several prefectures such as Osaka and Kyoto, both in the Kansai region, have still been able to benefit economically from the current inbound tourism boom.

Going forward, Tokyo 2020 is anticipated to burst through this economically stagnated situation of Japan by acquiring positive economic impacts through further enhanced public and private investments and ongoing inbound tourism surge. However, it is not sure whether economic benefits generated through Tokyo 2020 can reach beyond the Kanto region. With inbound tourism increasing, Tokyo 2020 may lead to increased socio-cultural and environmental issues. Concerning socio-cultural problems, the exclusion of local people, international visitors breaching local manners and government-led ‘purification’ of social pathologies have already been observed in Tokyo. Hosting a mega-event can exacerbate this further. Environmental matters such as an upsurge in the amount of rubbish on street may also be aggravated by the Games and continuing inbound tourism upsurge. Likewise, the sustainable and effective usage of Tokyo 2020 venues after the Games is also quite important to prevent further environmental and socio-cultural problems if the venues are not flattened after the Games. Otherwise, these venues can become white elephants. Such little-used structures would not be economically, socio-culturally and environmentally sustainable, and may spoil the urbanscape of Tokyo and quality lives of residents living in its vicinity, which can deplete regeneration efforts and threaten local heritage. The presence of such white elephants could also decrease the level of satisfaction of Japanese and overseas tourists, and it can lead to Tokyo’s falling popularity as a tourist destination. For these reasons, Tokyo 2020’s legacy and potential noted shortcomings need to be evaluated carefully if the event is going to achieve the sustainability agenda put forward by Tokyo’s organising committee.