olympics

Japan set for rich medal haul in Rio, say analysts

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Here we go again! It's never just "do your best" or, "we hope to do our best, and we support our athletes no matter what!"; it's always, "We expect to get 20 medals".

I just hope they're preparing the speech to defend why Japan got next to none of the 'predicted' medals while South Korea got so many.

5 ( +10 / -5 )

IF there even is a Rio 2016. There are already calls to not have the games because of the Zika virus. (I can't see that happening though.)

5 ( +5 / -0 )

@Smith Exactly. Many of my coworkers who don't know about football were shocked when Japan didn't reach the last 16 of the last World Cup after listening to similar drivel from people predicting last 8 in the media. Very few, if anybody, outside Japan predicted last 8.

Just let them get on with it without unnecessary pressure.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

It should be said that this is is an independent analysis of Japan's chances, not just domestic hubris. The UK has made a range of predictions too (in contrast to what it says here, there is some expectation of matching or surpassing London, though, if so, it would be the first time a country had bettered its home Olympics in the next one) so it is done elsewhere. But with the latest allegations about a Chinese doping programme perhaps Japan will do even better than this.

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@Kurobune, Brasil is not cancelling carnival this year during the hot time of the year. I'd imagine mosquitoes are less prevalent in the cool winter months July-August. Cutting out sexual activity to stop zika will be the challenge. El Salvador's government laughably told all the women to stop having babies until 2018. And if zika is still around, what then?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Agree with moonraker, nothing to do with japan talking themselves up. I actually think Japanese people and sportsmen tend to be very humble and somehow resigned to losing on the world stage in many/ most sports.

There are probably a good 180 other nations who could learn a fair bit from them when it comes to 'not bragging before a sporting event'.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

goldorak: Japanese people and sportsmen tend to be very humble and somehow resigned to losing on the world stage

Wow. You don't read the comments section on this site around big tennis tournaments, do you? "Japanese sportsmen" - I'll agree. "Japanese people" (meaning, the general public and/or media) - no way. The irrational expectations can get out of hand.

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@TOW, fair enough. I must have met 'the good ones' then! More often than not I feel I have had to sort of reassure them that yes, they stand a chance, when their team plays against an international opponent. (maybe it had to do with the sports we were talking about dunno).

Re media, all western media I read are guilty of it, some more than others. I can't read Japanese but from the English speaking Japanese media I have read/listened to I have the impression its more their usual "do your best, make us proud etc' stuff than "surely we will win this one". That's the way I have always seen it anyway, may be wrong though.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

goldorak: "That's the way I have always seen it anyway, may be wrong though."

Yup, you're wrong -- or else just looking at/hearing things through rose-colored lenses (earphones?). Some people, for sure, believe in the old "just do your best and make us proud", but there are a whole lot more (among those vocal about it) who literally count medals for events that haven't started, and when they end up not getting them people go apoplectic, the self-entitlement is so bad. They predicted heaps as well for London and ended up having all sorts of media meetings after to apologise for being so horribly off, and trying to explain why Korea did so much better (Winter too!) because people were angry about that as well.

Other nations do it as well, but not to the extent I've seen here, and while other nations do indeed react the same way when they lose (or don't do as well), I really can't believe some of the poor sportsmanship. The baseball tournament they had recently when Japan held its own special medal ceremony for bronze because the media had already spent the day before their big loss against South Korea for the final talking about who would make the line-up for the final game agains the US was a good example of the same kind of shameful reaction you can see sometimes.

I was kind of hoping they wouldn't do it again, but here you are.

And yes, other nations are guilty of this, but again not as far off. I believe someone pointed out the last time Japan did this that it was England that more or less started it.

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I really can't believe some of the poor sportsmanship.

ITA. And I think it's telling that there's no word for "sportsmanship" in Japanese.

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I think it's telling that there's no word for "sportsmanship" in Japanese.

スポーツ精神?

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

And yes, other nations are guilty of this, but again not as far off.

Try South Korea. They're on par if not worse.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"Take this now and we'll make sure you're going to be a judge again come Tokyo 2020".

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yumster100: "Try South Korea. They're on par if not worse."

You missed the "not far off" part. Korea is indeed engaged in the same shameless bragging and self-entitlement, but the big difference is they actually succeed in getting the number of medals, or close to it, that they say they'll get in the media. In the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, I think, they actually exceeded the number they had aimed for. Japan had predicted a huge hall and nearly died, with Mori actually blaming Asada Mao, when they failed to get a single gold.

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@ Smith,

No, I'm in total agreement with you regarding the expectations of medal (whether they achieved it or not). I think that destroys the spirit of the games so that wasn't really my point. I included Korea when it comes to people expecting those medals and how ugly and twisted they get. Koreans have sent DEATH THREATS to the athletes all because their medals were taken away from them. Your examples that you provided are good indicators of how pathetic some people can be and I just included others as well.

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Yumster: We're in complete agreement. If this were a thread about the US, South Korea, China, or any other nation doing it I'd be on their case about the same thing (again, though, they actually get close to the number they claim they'll get, unlike Japan).

As for the death threats, that's an entirely different and disgusting practice, and aside from some Urawa fans basically resorting to that kind of garbage towards Koreans or Iranians, fortunately that's one thing we don't get a lot of here (yet). Here they just pretend things never happened and the people involved don't exist if Japan does poorly in international competitions. You might see that change, though, with things coming to Tokyo in 2020.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Too much bragging about Koreans while not so many in Japan care about their medals. You're obsessed with them. You hate Japan with passion on the other hand.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

That's good news! Hopefully Japan gets a good haul this time round! It would be in everyone's interests I think to ban Russia's athletics and whatever other doped up teams they have as it could be fatal to image of the Olympics, already so poor as it is

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Hopefully..........but you know the expression about counting your chickens

1 ( +1 / -0 )

is Japan the only country that does this? Why put a nemerical number on it? insane. The japanese media, including Kyodo news, also engages in this silly ritual.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Most countries are all about "giving it their best shot". None of this we expect to get ...........medals nonsense

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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