Japanese Olympics boss demands nationalism of athletes

This video says about itself:

Patriotism in Japanese schools breeds controversy

23 April 2008

REPORT: Singing the pre-World War II national anthem in schools is compulsory since a few years, but some parents and teachers worry about patriotism becoming nationalism.

This national anthem, which is not about the Japanese people but about the emperor, is controversial in Japan. Hundreds of teachers have been punished for not singing it; some have committed suicide.

From AFP news agency:

4 July 2016 – 18H25

Tokyo 2020 boss tells Japan athletes don’t ‘mumble’ anthem

TOKYO – The gaffe-prone Tokyo 2020 chief has warned Japan’s Olympic team not to “mumble” the national anthem, saying those who can’t sing it properly don’t deserve to represent the country.

Former prime minister Yoshiro Mori, who heads up the committee for the 2020 Games hosted by Tokyo, was speaking at Sunday’s send-off event for the 300 Japanese athletes heading to next month’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

“When you go up the podium, please do not be mumbling but sing the national anthem loudly,” Mori said.

“Athletes who cannot sing the anthem should not be considered to be Japan’s representatives,” he added, according to the Asahi newspaper.

Mori turns 79 this month and served a short one-year stint as prime minister in 2000 to 2001, a tenure mostly remembered for a series of public blunders.

In 2014, he came under fire after criticising Japanese figure-skating heroine Mao Asada after a disappointing performance at the Sochi Olympics.

He also criticised Japan’s ice dance pairing, Cathy and Chris Reed, saying: “They live in the US. We let them be part of the Japanese team because they are not good enough (to represent the United States)”.

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