AFP, Tokyo :
Whistle-blowing, flag-waving super-fan Kyoko Ishikawa has attended every Summer Olympics in the past 30 years – and the Tokyo resident doesn’t plan on missing out on a Games in her home city.
The 51-year-old can’t wait to welcome the world to Tokyo, even though surging infections and skyrocketing costs have convinced many other Japanese that the event should not go ahead this year.
“The Olympics are amazing,” said Ishikawa, who has become a familiar face at Olympic venues with her traditional Japanese outfit and ‘hachimaki’ headband, adorned with her country’s red-and-white flag.
“The power of diversity. The energy of diversity. The Olympics are only three weeks, but within that short period you get a concentrated picture of the whole world,” she told AFP.
A third wave of coronavirus infections is causing jitters in Japan, with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announcing Monday that he was considering declaring a state of emergency in the greater Tokyo area.
A recent poll by public broadcaster NHK revealed that a majority of people in Japan oppose holding the postponed Tokyo 2020 Games this year, with most favouring another delay or outright cancellation.
But Ishikawa – a successful businesswoman with her own IT company, who transforms herself into an exuberant uber-fan every four years – is of a different opinion.
