Wonderful sports culture in Denmark (Letter from Ambassador in May)

Dear friends,

    I hope that this letter finds you well, as we see the colour of fresh green leaves turning into deeper green everyday here in Denmark.

   I have been frequently asked by almost all my Danish friends if Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer would be held as it has been planned. As less than two months are left until the opening of Olympics, major Danish media also write and broadcast the status of preparations of Danish athletes and Japanese public opinion about the Games from time to time. When asked, I have explained that Japan is doing its utmost to prepare for the safe and secure game. Although COVID-19 situation has been changing day by day not only in Japan but also in the world, most of my Danish friends nod deeply to my explanation, and some of them even add that Japan will make it safe and successful despite such difficult situations. One can argue that it would take a bit of courage to say it is impossible to hold the games in front of a Japanese person. However, I still regard that the positive remarks must be a precious consequence of long-time exchanges between Denmark and Japan and of trust and friendship accumulated in those years through the deeds of Japan in the international community.

   Since March 2020, there have been almost no visitors from Japan because of COVID-19. This month, the Japanese National Women Handball team, “Orihime Japan” has arrived and been practicing in Denmark for the Olympics. They practice in the so called “bubble”, shutting down the contacts with any visitors. It is not possible to see them, so we just sent our messages of supports to them. The head coach of the Japanese national team is Mr. Ulrik Kirkly. He is the head coach of “Odense Håndbold”, which won the final round of Danish women national league on 29th May. I went to see the first match of the final round the other day. Ms. IKEHARA Ayaka, a member of the Japanese national team as well as Right Wing of “Odense Håndbold” got two goals to win the game. Before COVID-19, the supporters of the teams had entered the playing field after the game and chatted with the players. Now it was one of the first matches after gradual reopening, and therefore the number of audiences was restricted, the negative result of the test required, and no post-game exchanges among the players and supporters. We saw some supporters cheering the athletes from a distance.

   Danish athletes have got many Olympic medals in the past in handball, badminton, sailing, swimming, canoeing, cycling, fencing, boxing, shooting, equestrian and so on. In the past one year or so, I have met and listened to those who manage the Danish national associations of respective sports. They have kindly shared their views on various challenges brought about by COVID-19, such as the period when practices in person were prohibited, no audience games for a long time, postponement of qualifying matches, various arguments on priority rights of vaccine for the athletes and so on. The players and coaches have overcome so many challenges and now they are concentrating on the final practices. In any sports, it is characteristic in Denmark that training and exchanges at local clubs and associations are very active. Children and adults practice and play together closely. There are few persons who aim to go to Olympics and Paralympics, and everyone else enjoys practicing together that naturally nurtures a sort of community spirit, or a sense of solidarity. This is a wonderful sports culture in Denmark. I have often witnessed so many Danes perceive such custom in an affirmative manner. At the same time, the state and municipal governments as well as companies and schools continue to make efforts to sustain such culture. In fact, CEOs and board members of national sports associations are not paid for that job and often they seem to have other professions in parallel.
 

   Dear friends, I guess some of you might have seen His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik visiting the affected regions by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 just three months after the natural disaster, and playing football with children there. HRH Crown Prince is a representative to the International Olympic Committee from the Kingdom of Denmark and also hosts the annual Royal Run all over the Kingdom. So many runners participate in this long-distance running. Due to COVID-19, Royal Run 2020 and spring 2021 had to be cancelled. As the society reopens, many runners look forward to the resumption of the Run. As a humble foreigner here, I continue using the stairs every morning to the office on the 9th floor, firstly walking up then walking up faster and eventually aiming to run up, so that I could complete the shortest one-mile trial of the next Royal Run.

   I wish you well and look forward to seeing you again on this page or somewhere else in June.