Tokyo faces challenge to clean up beaches before 2020 Games

TOKYO: On a blazing hot Tokyo summer day, children squeal with delight as they splash about on a sandy beach, with the skyline of the world’s biggest city shimmering behind them.

The scene may seem unremarkable but it was unthinkable until recently when local activists decided to clean up the polluted water at city beaches, hoping to leave a legacy from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

“Tokyo Bay used to have many swimmable beaches,” recalls one of these activists, 70-year-old Yuzo Sekiguchi. “But by the time the last Tokyo Olympic Games were held in 1964... the water was polluted by factory effluent.”

“I decided to bring back clean Tokyo beaches for the next generation,” he told AFP.The oysters gobble plankton and absorb bacteria, making the water clearer and cleaner. They remain edible though authorities don’t recommend consuming them thanks to the bacteria content.

While Sekiguchi decided to start the clean-up work on his own initiative, he has since received backing, including financial support.Despite measures by people like Sekiguchi and improvements in sewerage facilities, pollution in the water around Tokyo has been a concern as the city gears up to host the 2020 Games.

Organisers admitted in October last year that prolonged summer rain had temporarily brought high levels of bacteria to the triathlon venue, sparking concern from international Olympic officials.But Olympic planners say they are confident that a combination of better sewerage facilities and the introduction of underwater screens will keep the water quality to international standards during the Games.

“We will create an environment that will enable athletes to perform at their best with a sense of safety,” Tokyo 2020 official Hidemasa Nakamura told a recent news conference announcing the triathlon courses.

Kenji Morita, another activist is cultivating laver seaweed and clams in a bid to purify waters in Odaiba, the venue for the Tokyo 2020 triathlon and marathon swimming. Morita said his project had the unexpected benefit of appealing to people with disabilities as Tokyo seeks to improve facilities ahead of the Paralympic Games.

“When I first started this five years ago, I didn’t realise it, but this place has easy access for everyone,” thanks to ramps and lifts, he said.

Many believe that the upcoming Olympics, now less than two years away, is the perfect opportunity for Tokyo to clean up its act. The mayor in charge of the Odaiba area has pledged to “make a swimmable Odaiba sea a legacy of the Tokyo 2020 Games.”

Sekiguchi said his project was driven by “frustration for not being able to give my daughter the natural experiences that I had.”“In 2020, if Tokyo can show the world a way of life that can coexist with nature, I think Tokyo will earn global respect.”