JAL decorates aircraft in support for Tokyo's 2016 Olympic bid
TOKYO —
Japan Airlines (JAL) on Thursday put into service a specially decorated aircraft to support
Tokyo’s bid for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. JAL is an official partner of the Tokyo 2016 Bid Committee.
In support of the committee’s activities, the airline has decorated one of its B767-300 aircraft with a special Tokyo 2016 Olympic/ Paralympic Games bid design. The design incorporates the committee’s logo and Japanese catchphrase as well as an attractive rainbow motif.
The aircraft will serve on domestic Japan routes helping to raise awareness and support from the skies for the Olympic bid throughout the country. Routes the aircraft will serve on are Haneda-Komatsu, Haneda-Matsuyama, Osaka-Sapporo, and Osaka-Okinawa (Naha).
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Mark_McCracken
Chicago and Rio seem to have a better chance than Tokyo. Asia just had the Olympics. Europe (London) in 2012. The next logical place would be in the Americas.
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rjd_jr
Well Atlanta had an Olympics in 1996. Tokyo has not had summer olympics since 1964. They deserve it.
Go Japan.
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soldave
On what grounds do they deserve it over the other applicants?
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northlondon
The Japanese Olympic organising committee and the Japanese government just don't get it. What is the point of flying Olympic JAL livery within Japan ? They need to convince international members of the Olympic voting committee and gain support around the world. The Japanese people won't get a choice in this and don't vote. Why aren't they flying this livery around the world ? They have an Tokyo Olympic promotion in Midtown today with girls handing out pin badges. It was the same old 'avoid the gaijin but hand them out to Japanese people' routine, but they don't understand that it is us gaijin who will have a small influence on international opinion.
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NeoJamal
Uh..the size of local national and civic support is a criterion for IOC consideration, you fail at J-bashing.
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rajakumar
Voting for hosts to happen in copenhagen,Denmark in October 2009.
Not long, just 12 months only to go. Lucky host job may go to Japan(tokyo),USA(chicago),Brazil(Rio) or Spain(madrid).
Japan doing well, by being 1st to decorate aircrafts to garner more support.
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Nessie
The cool aeroplanes.
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timorborder
The aircraft painted in such a way should be used on international routes. After all, it is the IOC that decides and not just the JOC. Putting a nice color scheme on an aircraft that only services domestic destinations seems to be the equivalent of pxxxxxx into the wind.
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northlondon
Rubbish. The Japanese government, prodded by Ishihara and the Tokyo Metropolitan government, gave the green light for this a while ago. Go and visit Midtown today if you don't believe me. Like I said, this has already been signed-off without any vote by Japanese business or local government. Do you think the citizens living around the Tokyo Bay Olympic Zone were asked to vote for this ? This is Ishihara's baby and he runs Tokyo local government. This is not Japan-bashing, this is reality pal.
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nisegaijin
I hope Rio wins. Just my response for these idiots closing night clubs to remove a "bad" image of Tokyo.
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Mark_McCracken
Chicago and Rio have never had the Olympics. So, by your logic, wouldn't they deserve to have it more?
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soldave
NeoJamal - but does local, national & civic support correspond with a private company's support? You would have thought that it would refer to the people, the media, the country in general and other prefectures in Japan's support over companies'.
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gyouza
Domestic support will be crucial. Tokyo taxpayers may have to foot part of the bill, so this goes beyond Ishihara and any government approvals already received. It requires "us" on the ground to be behind it. If we aren't, the IOC will know (local press, etc), and the voices of a (relatively) few gaijin inside Tokyo aren't (likely) going to make any difference. If anyone REALLY wants an Olympic pin badge, just ask the girls handing them out - they'll gladly supply you with one.
Curiously, the plane pictures seems to be adopting the same colour scheme as Emirates! Same diagonals, same colours (but painted on fuselage, not tail). I wonder if there is a merger or take over coming up??
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memyselfI
I've been to Chicago and Rio. Please, not Tokyo !!! Tokyo can't handle it !!!! To many people riding the train as it is. I give credit for China, training taxi drivers, hotel staff, and hospitality staff to speak alittle English. But can they do that here ? Learning a second language is a sin here, and being courteous is out the window.
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gyouza
Is this Tokyo in Japan? Not courteous? Must have had a bad experience, and that really is sad - no place better than Tokyo for hotels!
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northlondon
When did Japanese taxpayers ever get to voice their opinion on the tax-wasting highway projects or even on who their Prime Minister should be (Aso) ? This country has a history of passive to non-reaction by the voting population, so they sure ain't going to demonstrate about the Olympics. Ishihara ? He bankrolled a new bank that has gone bust twice over. Did the Tokyo taxpayers do anything about it ? As for the IOC requiring local support, what about Beijing ? How many local working people were cleared out of the Olympic zone in Beijing and did the IOC give a damn ? Did the IOC give a damn about China's human rights abuses in Tibet ? The Olympics is all about big business and politics at government level. However, the relatively few gaijin living in Japan also consititute senior diplomatic staff and heads of big business. Certainly a lot more affective to Tokyo's Olympic bid than the Japanese realise.
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gyouza
northlondon->
the decision is made, no question on that, but if the project is seen not to be supported at a local level, then the bid will fail. This isn;t about making the decision to go for the bid, it is about getting people behind it.
Beijing? I'm guessing the authorities told the locals to support. just a guess!
One thing you mention strikes a chord though, I wonder if human rights in Japan will be put under the microscope by any organisation?
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xpompey8
Tokyo needs national support from all of Japan, and hence the domestic-route aircraft gets the makeover.
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outofmydepth
who paid for this and how much was it? was it approved by "the people?" isihara hates foreigners so why is he so eager to have so many in tokyo at one time?
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chibaman
Don't worry, it will be much more about Japan than the outside if Tokyo gets the Olympics. Look how great Japan is, we have the Olympics again! Isn't Japan great! Tourists come and drop your money, marvel at our on-the-surface hospitality but don't get too comfortable, and make sure you get on that plane and go home.
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gyouza
However... like London, it is unlikely that the current mayor is going to be on the throne (so to speak) during the games themselves. Poor old Ken Livingstone must have seen red (?) when Boris picked up the flag for London at the Beijing closing ceremony.
Also, I doubt if he hates foreigners, look at the Ishihara marathon - there is a much higher proportion of gaijin running than living in Tokyo.
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nigelboy
Domestic support is a key factor in determining the selection by the IOC. If the locals are luke warm about it by the time IOC makes the decision, most likely it would not be awarded to Tokyo.
The local population. Most of the rural population welcome such projects for it brings them jobs. Those who oppose are urban population who already has these in place.
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coulrophobic
When the next World Cup, still scheduled to be held at venues in Johannesburg, Durban and Capetown, is a complete bust we'll see how attractive the safe and relatively murder-free streets of Tokyo look to sports fans.
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okapake
Wasting paint to add to aircraft weight - hence higher fuel usage and costs.
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