FENCING

Olympic silver medalist Ota employed by Morinaga

Friday 24th October, 04:47 AM JST

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14 Comments

boobug at 01:59 PM JST - 24th October

Saw this guy whimpering on the nightly news. So whats the big deal ? Why can't an Olympian find a regular job in Japan. First off, why hasn't this guy been offered a coaching position ? Why isn't he out on the recruiting trail ? Why no endorsements ? Japan remains hopeless !
mikihouse at 02:56 PM JST - 24th October

because in Japan, gold medalist or winners in olympics are not rewarded (hmm recently they recieved maybe 1M yen for having a medal) and soon forgotten. These athletes pay for every dime thru their pocket and if lucky get support from sponsors but thats it. SO if Ota-san got a job, it is not really something to be surprised at for these athletes need to eat and pay just like any mortals in Japan.
boobug at 03:40 PM JST - 24th October

"These athletes pay for every dime thru their pocket"

Balderdash ! The vast majority have sponsors, corporate jobs, or are supported by local community efforts. This guy obviously fell through the cracks, probably had something to do with fencing being such a minor sport. Too bad Japan doesn't support its athletes properly. I know of dozens that run off to the USA for training and a better quality of life. Gee, wonder who pays for all that ? And then to see them hoist the Japanese flag if they win a medal, Is their no shame ? Not with the Japanese I guess. Lets hope the Americans wise up and start tossing all these foreign Olympians out of the US. That, or insist they carry a US flag onto the winners podium if they win. I'm just sick of it all. The fact that American kids lose time to train so some Japanese figure skater can have ice time ! Boo from the boobug !
cleo at 03:58 PM JST - 24th October

Why can't an Olympian find a regular job in Japan

Accepted a job offer, starts working as a marketing official. Which bit of that is not 'a regular job'?

First off, why hasn't this guy been offered a coaching position ?

He may well have been. According to what he was saying on the telly last night, he wanted a regular job, as opposed to living off his medal.

Good for him. That's what the Olympics is about ordinary folk excelling at their favourite sport, not mollycoddled semi-pros being cosseted and pampered for their advertising value.
boobug at 04:11 PM JST - 24th October

"Accepted a job offer, starts working as a marketing official. Which bit of that is not 'a regular job'?"

Someone obviously didn't see the news reel being shown "over and over" again on the tele last night. "A regular job" ? Do you really think so ?

"That's what the Olympics is about ordinary folk excelling at their favourite sport, not mollycoddled semi-pros being cosseted and pampered for their advertising value."

Dear me, do you really think Ota san has not been "mollycoddled" over the past 15 years ? Ha-ha-ha ! Oooohhh stop ! Ha-ha-ha ! Cleo, the guy has been nothing more than a semi-pro athlete since the time he was recruited out of some sporting academy... much like the Chinese do with their athletes. Oh stop already... yer killin me here ! "Ordinary folk" ? Pflllt !
cleo at 04:23 PM JST - 24th October

boobug -

do you think you could stop giggling long enough to explain whether you think Ota-kun has been "mollycoddled" over the past 15 years or whether he obviously fell through the cracks?
boobug at 05:58 PM JST - 24th October

"explain whether you think Ota-kun has been "mollycoddled" over the past 15 years or whether he obviously fell through the cracks?"

You mean he couldn't have done both ? He couldn't be the typical pampered mamby pamby Japanese athlete that chose to get involved in a minor sport, thus diminishing his chances to get picked up by Toyota or Mitsubishi ? Oh dear, I sense another case of the giggles !
cleo at 06:06 PM JST - 24th October

boobug -

Do please elaborate. If he 'fell through the cracks' and wasn't 'picked up by Toyota or Mitsubishi', where did he get his so-called typical mamby pamby pampering? And what exactly did this pampering involve? And what has that got to go with the lad landing an ordinary job instead of being a fencing coach?
boobug at 06:23 PM JST - 24th October

Nice try Cleo... I'll not get dragged into your "Gee, I don't understand" world of sillyness. To sum things up, Ota getting a job is "not news" ! To see his whimpering mug on the tele last night was even more ridiculous. Japan news outlets need to re-think their priorities and dole out the real dirt. Looking for excuses to Relive past Olympic glory seems a bit desperate, and make no mistake... thats all this is ! Boobug says Boo !
roomtemperature at 06:35 PM JST - 24th October

"To sum things up, Ota getting a job is "not news" !"

Maybe not for you, boobug. Whimpering might not be in your dictionary. You'd better notify the Japanese news outlets it's not news, because YOU think so. They probably didn't know it yet. And tell them that whimpering is "not done".

"Boobug says Boo !"

Now....that's what I call "not news".
Lieutenant at 06:45 PM JST - 24th October

I think everybody is right.
cleo at 07:17 PM JST - 24th October

boobug -

You could have said in your first post that a 22-year-old graduate getting a job was not national news, and I would have agreed with you. (Big news for the lad himself, of course. And good luck to him, both in his new career and in London in 2012.)

Instead you had to go off on a self-contradicting rant about him falling through cracks and being mollycoddled, and complaining about US skaters not being able to get rink time because the US is overflowing with Japanese skaters....

roomtemperature has it right. What boobug says is as far from news as it is possible to get.
roomtemperature at 01:09 PM JST - 25th October

"roomtemperature has it right. What boobug says is as far from news as it is possible to get."

Cleo, we all know Boobug's "agenda", right.
barfly08 at 05:01 PM JST - 27th October

"Morinaga has provided support for his activities as a fencer since he was a high school student."

So the guys basically a pro ? Sounds like Boobug hit the nail on the head, this is not news, Ota has had financial support since he's been a high schooler, and I too am sick of all these Japanese athletes (not necessarily Ota) going to other countries for training- like the USA- and not acknowledging it.