Tokyo 2020 to be 'Canceled' not 'Moved": IOC official

[Grumpy Gramps]

They only have to invert the test criteria to make it all happen. Whoever tests positive, can congregate and snuggle up as much as they want. No need to stop the Olympics, all you have to do to qualify as an athlete or spectator is test positive.

"Orimpiku 202❓: Think positive!"

[Russell]

CovidOlympics.jpg

FCCJ magazine cover draws ire over linkage with COVID-19 crisis

Number 1 Shimbun, the monthly magazine for members of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, found itself the target of rare social media comment, both critical and favorable, with a front cover design in the April issue that combines the logo for the Tokyo Olympics with the novel coronavirus.

The edition was devoted to the coronavirus outbreak and the cover design bears a striking resemblance to the Tokyo Olympics emblem with the label “COVID-19” right below it.

While one social media post praised the “brilliant design,” others were more critical with one contributor writing: “Is it meant to be a sarcastic call for the cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics? I don’t think it is in very good taste because it is too explicit.”

The cover was created by Andrew Pothecary, 58, a Tokyo-based British designer who serves as art director for the magazine, which is also available online.

Pothecary said he wanted to make a powerful statement about the situation in Japan right now because information related to the coronavirus pandemic appears to be changing on a daily basis.

Pothecary added that he took inspiration for the design from a statement by Finance Minister Taro Aso that the Tokyo Olympics was cursed as well as doubts he harbored about a sudden surge in COVID-19 infections in Japan soon after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that the Olympics would be delayed by a year.

“I think many people were hoping until the very last moment that the Tokyo Olympics went ahead as scheduled, but when the decision was made to delay, some likely felt an outright cancellation was now possible,” Pothecary said. “Not only could those Games be mocked as the ‘corona Olympics,’ but there is now the possibility that the Olympics itself will become another victim of the coronavirus.”

He explained his view that parody plays an important role of speaking the truth toward those in authority.

The organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympics has expressed its dismay over the cover design on grounds it connects the emblem for the Tokyo Olympics with the coronavirus.

“I thought it raised the question of, ‘Are you still thinking about going ahead with the Olympics when there does not seem to be any clear path for bringing the coronavirus outbreak to an end?’” said one member of the organizing committee.

Illustrators in Japan offered their own thoughts about the difficulty of parodying an issue as complicated as the deadly coronavirus.

Shoji Yamafuji, 83, who creates parody manga and is well known for his zany caricatures of politicians, felt that parody invariably goes down well with the general public when it is directed at those who hold overwhelming power and marks them as being far removed from what ordinary people are thinking.

More

Maybe the Asahi Shimbun should direct its attention to FG for some better parodies...

[matsuki]

Maybe the Asahi Shimbun should direct its attention to FG for some better parodies...

FG Japan parodies numbaaaa wan!

[Taro Toporific]

FCCJ magazine cover draws ire over linkage with COVID-19 crisis

New Tokyo Olympics Design Released
The Rising Wasabi | May 21, 2020
Tokyo Olympics officials are furious the Tokyo Olympics design has been affected by the coronavirus.
Tokyo spokesman Tasa Makaya said in a conference on Tuesday, “Iyada!”
Makaya told reporters Japan “doesn’t do satire” and the new coronavirus design should be banned...
...“We’ve been through enough this year, we’ve now got foreign humour infecting our society.”...
More...

Corona-Flag.jpg

Japan journalists' club removes parody of Olympic logo depicting COVID-19
May 21, 2020 (Mainichi Japan)
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The unForeign Correspondents' Club of Japan said Thursday it removed a parody of the Tokyo Olympic emblem depicting the novel coronavirus published on the cover of its magazine after receiving strong criticism from the games' organizers.
"Clearly, the cover offended some people in our host country, Japan... We would like to express our sincere regret to anyone who (it) may have offended on all sides of the issue," uFCCJ President Khaldon Azhari said in an online press conference.
Reading a statement from its board of directors, Azhari said the uFCCJ considers the use of the controversial image as "a copyright issue" and made the decision to remove the image from its website after consulting with several law experts.
More...

covidolympics.jpg

[Russell]

So, now the design is only available on FG?

[Taro Toporific]

So, now the design is only available on FG?

The design is available on FG because I first did the/an original parody back in March.
(Hey, if the Olympic Committee hit the FG with a copyright suit, we would ease all the copies faster than the FCCJ did.)

Drawing that parodies Tokyo Olympic logo pulled from FCCJ website
japantoday.com | May 21, 2020 04:01 pm JST
...The FCCJ were hit with a SLAPP, that is a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, which are intended to silence criticism and intimidate the target. The Japanese Olympic Committee has unlimited funds, the FCCJ has nothing much, which means the FCCJ would either lose or be financially exhausted...
More ...

_w850.jpg

[Taro Toporific]

So, now the design is only available on FG?

The Streisand Effect is in play.
The FCCJ only printed a thousand copies and they posted the parody cover buried deep on their sleepy website. Now dozens of news sites are reporting it worldwide and the parody cover is all over Google Images.

plenty-of-examples.jpg

[matsuki]

Just wait til someone figures out they can use an online fax service to fax the olympic committee a million pages of that logo....might as well hit their lawyer's office as well

[AlbertSiegel]

I'm a bit surprised by the anger directed at the club and president for taking down the cover. All everyone talks about is freedom of expression or freedom of press, but that's not what this was legally about. Japan has complicated copyright and trademark laws. Parody is not usually a good defense against infringement in Japanese courts when the entire logo is used in full with only minor additions. Many examples of parody are given by those supporting the cover, but none of them are comparable or even have anything to do with Japan (under Japanese law I mean).

It seems to me that the vast majority saying this is parody and clearly fair use have no idea what they are talking about when it comes to the legal aspect in Japan. The FCCJ got legal consultation on the matter and were given the strong recommendation to not pursue this in court and to comply with the takedown request as they would be likely to lose the case. And even if a good chance of winning were possible, it would still cost big money. Winning is not cheap in Japan. The club simply does not have the money to fight this win or lose, and losing would likely result in the FCCJ becoming insolvent. The FCCJ had no choice. It was either remove the cover, or run out of money trying to keep it online just to have it removed anyway when they are forced to close operations.

[Foods]

Want to learn HOW TO MAKE BUTT -ERMILK

[Taro Toporific]

Want to learn HOW TO MAKE BUTT -ERMILK

Huh?
BRAIN FART? Your post is random and totally off-topic. What gives dude?

[Russell]

Want to learn HOW TO MAKE BUTTERMILK

Huh?
BRAIN FART? Your post is random and totally off-topic. What gives dude?

It's SPAM!

[Grumpy Gramps]

Want to learn HOW TO REMOVE A SPAM LINK

Huh?
BRAIN FART? Your post is random and totally off-topic. What gives dude?

It's SPAM!

Who needs buttermilk, if they can have SPAM Musubi.

Gettin' hungry!

Aloha

[Taro Toporific]

Want to learn HOW TO MAKE BUTT-ERMILK

It's SPAM!

Cooking Spam---Talk about weird.
That site doesn't have any ads or affiliate links---Just 50+ recipes since 2019 originating from Haryana India. Why even bother with spamming?

[yanpa]

Want to learn HOW TO MAKE BUTT-ERMILK

It's SPAM!

Cooking Spam---Talk about weird.
That site doesn't have any ads or affiliate links---Just 50+ recipes since 2019 originating from Haryana India. Why even bother with spamming?

I've seen a pattern of these kinds of spam links recently, where the target site is utterly devoid of any of the usual spamsite-style characteristics; my bet is they're trying to play a longer game and build up a network of credible-looking "clean" sites which can be "weaponised" later.

[wagyl]

A related post, if you want to do deeper disinfecting of the forums. viewtopic.php?f=8&t=28268&start=60#p401369

[Buraku]

talk of simplifying, but no specifics so far?

Andy Ruiz Jr warned he will be BANNED from boxing by WBC for two years if he competes at Tokyo Olympics for Mexico

Call to cancel Tokyo Olympics enters race for Tokyo governor
https://www.sfgate.com/ , https://japantoday.com/



btw 'Murica wants Trump to Bless God?
https://media.thedonald.win/thedonald/p ... HW1Cn.jpeg

[Taro Toporific]

Tokyo Games should be held 'at any cost,' says Olympic minister
The Japan Times | Sep 8, 2020
Olympic minister Seiko Hashimoto said Tuesday she believes the postponed Tokyo Games should be held next year "at any cost" in consideration of the preparations being made by athletes and others involved with the tournament.
"All the people involved with the games are working together to prepare, and the athletes are also making considerable efforts toward next year under the circumstances they've been handed"...
More...

https://youtu.be/QcbR1J_4ICg

[matsuki]

Oh they can be held.....14-day quarantine and create an Olympic bubble. Sorry fans, no tourism, no ticket sales. They're doing this with the playoffs of different sports in the US now.

[Grumpy Gramps]

'At any cost', of course not to her, but to the tax payer. Love it, when unthrifty politicians play with my money.

[matsuki]

'At any cost', of course not to her, but to the tax payer. Love it, when unthrifty politicians play with my money.

That's the best kind of money to play with...other peoples

[Russell]

Just wondering whether they'll relax the rules for foreigners entering Japan for the Olympics...

[Grumpy Gramps]

Probably yes unless you have PR/spouse or a work visa.

[matsuki]

...or if they enforce social distancing so only 1/4 the seating capacity is used?

I won't be surprised if some asshole in power makes the decision to segregate the locals from furriners.

[Taro Toporific]

Tokyo Marathon to be postponed to fall 2021 over coronavirus: sources
The Japan Times | Oct 7, 2020
Next year’s Tokyo Marathon will be rescheduled from March to the fall due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, sources said Wednesday.
The Tokyo Marathon Foundation, the road race’s organizer, will hold a board meeting Friday to grant official approval for the decision, which is expected to include allowing some 38,000 general entrants to participate.
More...

[yanpa]

tokyo-2020.jpg

[matsuki]

In more great global PR for the Olympics.....

The new Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, is facing additional international pressure over the weekend, amid reports that Japan will be accelerating plans to dump millions of gallons of radioactive water directly into the ocean.

Reports have being widely circulated among Japan’s leading news agency and across international media that suggest the decision has already been taken by the new Japanese Government, and will be publicly communicated later this month.

Over 1.2 million tons of radioactive cooling water from the Fukushima Nuclear Plant will be released.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nishandegn ... b245c84329

Werrrrrrrcamu Japan!! Camu spendo maneeeeee Orinpikku! Let's berri berri famous! New Stajiamu!

I still crack up every time I pass the Tokyo 2020 merch booth at the local mall. Rarely do I see anyone in there. Can't imagine it will get better when it's 2021

[Mike Oxlong]

They can't even move the reduced tax 2020 orimpik beeru.

[matsuki]

Marketing fail on a grooobaru scale

[Mike Oxlong]

How does your wife like it?
Yeah, mine too.