Mori touts transformative power of sports ahead of Rugby World Cup, Tokyo Olympics
by Hiroshi Ikezawa
Yoshiro Mori, a former prime minister and the current president of the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, believes sports has the power to connect people’s hearts and encourage them to overcome obstacles.
前日本首相森喜朗,現任2020東京奧運和殘障奧運會籌備委員會主席.相信運動有聯繫人與人心中溝通橋樑的力量,並鼓勵人們克服障礙.
That belief motivated Mori to make a major contribution to successful bids for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
這個信念機動森喜朗成功爭取到2019橄欖球世界盃,2020東京奧運,和殘障奧運會.
“When Tokyo hosted the 1964 Olympics, it had not been long since the city had been ruined during World War II and many people doubted we could handle that big event,” the 81-year-old Mori told The Japan Times earlier this month in an exclusive interview at the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee office. “But we made it with cooperation from the world. We showed the world that we had recovered from the damage of the war. This is one of the powers sports have.”
當在1964年東京承辦奧運會時,距二次世界大戰不久,整個城市被轟炸變成廢墟.許多人懷疑我們能承接這件大事.這位現年81歲前首相森告訴日本時報在8月初,在2020東京奧委會籌備處獨家專訪.但是我們與世界各國合作,那時我們顯現告知給世人,我們從戰爭中破壞逐漸恢復.這就是運動有一股奇妙力量中的一項.
Mori has always been fond of sports. Born in 1937 in Neagari (currently Nomi), Ishikawa Prefecture, he loved to play baseball. But his interest eventually turned to rugby, which his father, Shigeki, used to play.
森喜朗總是熱愛運動.1937在石川縣根上町出生.他小時喜愛棒球,但是最後他的興趣轉向橄欖球,因為他的父親繁木(Shigeki)年輕也打橄欖球.
Three years after World War II ended, Shigeki Mori, the then-mayor of Neagari, invited the Waseda University rugby team to the village for a training camp. That is when Mori saw rugby being played for the first time. It didn’t take long before he picked up the sport himself.
二次大戰結束後三年,他的父親森繁木(Shigeki Mori)當選根上町市長,邀請早稻田大學橄欖球隊到他的村落集訓.這也使森喜朗大開眼界首次看到橄欖球比賽.但不久她自己選上這項運動.
He eventually attended Waseda. His playing time, however, ended abruptly in part because he was diagnosed with a stomach ulcer a few months after entering college. Mori also struggled to adjust to his new life and nearly chose to quit not only rugby but also Waseda, which he had entered on a scholarship.
他最後申請早稻田入學.他打球時間在進入早大不到數個月,因診斷出胃潰瘍,突然退出.森喜朗也試圖要適應他的新生活,而他幾乎選擇不但離開橄欖球,也要離開早稻田大學.這所大學是以申請獎學金補助入學.
“But coach (Tetsunosuke) Onishi scolded me and said, ‘Don’t abandon your life with rugby. If you feel sorry about quitting rugby, do something for rugby,’ ” Mori recalled. “His words had been in my mind for a long time and I had been thinking I owed something to rugby.”
但是他的教練大西鐵之助斥責他,不要放棄橄欖球,在你的生命中.如果你要離開橄欖球感到遺憾,那你就做一些有利橄欖球工作.森憶起教練的話一直在他心中迴盪很久一段時間,而我也不斷在想我是否虧欠橄欖球.
After quitting rugby, Mori joined a debate circle at Waseda, which opened a window for him to become a politician. He became a member of the LDP. In April 2000, he was named prime minister when Keizo Obuchi, his predecessor, stepped down after suffering a stroke.
自從決定離開早稻田橄欖球隊,森就參加辯論社.他打開心中的門窗,要使自己變為一個偉大政治家.他變成自民黨(LDP)的一員.在2000年4月他被任命首相,接任他的前任首相小淵惠三(Keizo Obuchi)因中風而辭職.
Mori resigned as prime minister in April 2001 and eventually became the president of the Japan Rugby Football Union in 2004. His goal was for Japan to bid for the Rugby World Cup.
2001年四月森喜朗辭去首相職務.在2004年成為日本橄欖球協會理事長.他的目標為日本爭取到橄欖球世界盃.
“Japanese rugby has a history of more than 100 years and we want to make the world aware of that,” Mori said. “Rugby is popular in countries which were former colonies of the British Empire. Japan was regarded as minor country in rugby. I wanted to change that.”
日本橄欖球歷史已超過100多年,我們想要世人知道日本橄球歷史.森說:橄欖球在昔日大英帝國殖民地國家非常盛行.而日本被認為橄欖球小國.我想要改變事實,重建世人觀念."
Mori’s wish was granted in 2009 when Japan were awarded the 2019 Rugby World Cup, becoming the first Asian nation to host the tournament.
森喜朗的願望在2009年獲得承諾.當日本取得2019橄欖球世界盃,成為第一個亞洲國家主辦這大比賽.
“That’s when I really felt I had made a contribution to rugby, as Onishi told me to,” Mori said.
他說:"那一刻這是我真心感到我做到對橄欖球貢獻盡一份心力,當年我大學教練大西鐵之助告訴我的話."(譯者註:十多年前日本海外地區橄欖球賽在台北市體育場舉行,森喜朗也來捧場.其實他的來訪,祭拜百年冥誕他的學長-台灣橄欖球之父-柯子彰前輩,前日本隊戰前遠征加拿大獲勝隊長.日本橄欖球最佳13號,前無古人,後無來者.
His next goal was to bring World Cup matches to Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture. Kamaishi has been regarded as a hotbed of rugby in Japan since the locally-based Nippon Steel rugby team won seven consecutive national championships from 1978 to 1984.
他的下一個目標把世界盃兩場比賽移至岩手縣釜石市.釜石被認為日本橄欖球的溫床,自從當地日本鋼鐵橄欖球隊曾在1978到1984蟬聯日本全國代表全大會七連霸.
Nippon Steel folded in 2001 when its parent company ended its sponsorship, but former players regrouped to establish a new team, Kamaishi Seawaves, later that year.
“When I visited Kamaishi after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, Mayor Takenori Noda took me to an area severely damaged by the tsunami where more than 800 people died,” Mori said. “At that time, he asked me to bring World Cup matches to the city.
日本鋼鐵在2001年關閉,而他的母公司結束他的贊助.但昔日資深隊員在重組新球隊,名稱叫釜石海浪隊.在我訪問釜石在2011年強烈東日本地震之後.市長Takenori Noda帶我到海嘯侵襲800多人死亡嚴重破壞災區,當下市長要求我是否可把世界盃幾場預賽到這城市舉行.(譯者註:上段文章在8月18日亞洲橄協新聞報導:釜石災難重建紀念橄欖球場)
“With the help of the Reconstruction Agency and the government, we were able to establish a new rugby stadium in Kamaishi and the organizing committee decided to play matches there,” Mori explained.喜朗解釋"由於重建代理商和政府的幫忙,我們能在釜石市建立一座新的橄欖球場,而世界盃籌委會決定在那裏舉行數場比賽."
The new venue, Kamaishi Unosumai Memorial Stadium, officially opened on Sunday. It will host two matches during next year’s World Cup — Fiji vs. Uruguay on Sept. 25 and Namibia vs. the repechage winner (to be decided later this year) on Oct. 13.
新球場釜石宇船前紀念球場在周日開幕.載明世界盃將舉行兩場.9月25日D組斐濟對烏拉圭;10月13日B組納米比亞對敗部復活優勝.(隊名要等11月中旬出爐)
Many believe bringing World Cup matches to Kamaishi will help boost the recovery of the city from the 2011 disaster, and Mori insists that the concept of helping the Tohoku region’s recovery contributed to Tokyo winning the bid to host the Olympics and Paralympics in 2020.
許多人相信把世界盃幾場到釜石將有助於2011大災難提升這城市的恢復力.森喜朗堅持幫助東北地區恢復,歸功於東京贏得2020奧運和障奧運的主辦權.
“When we lost the bidding for the 2016 Olympics to Rio de Janeiro in 2009, we failed to get enough support from people in this country, which is something the International Olympic Committee cares about,” Mori said. “Then we had the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11 in 2011. Shintaro Ishihara, who was the governor of Tokyo at that time, said we should bring the Olympics to support the reconstruction of Tohoku. That united people’s minds and helped win the bid.”
當我們在2009年提出爭取奧運主辦權,而由巴西里約熱內盧爭取到.我們失敗未能獲得重多國人的支持,這點國際奧委會非常關切.那時我們在2011年311強烈東日本地震,當時東京都首長石原慎太朗說:"我們要尋求國際奧委會支持,重建東北地區,結合群眾的心,來幫我爭取下屆2020奧運.
On Sept. 7, 2013 in Buenos Aires, Tokyo defeated Istanbul to win the right to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games. Now, the Tokyo Olympics are now less than two years away.
在2013年9月7日在阿根廷布宜諾斯艾利斯,東京擊敗伊斯坦堡,贏得2020東京奧運和殘障奧運會主辦權.現在聚東京奧運會不到兩年.
“I have no concern about the progress of the preparations. But we cannot be too optimistic because we have a lot of issues to solve,” Mori said. “Look at the highways. Most of them were built for the 1964 Tokyo Games. The population increased and our economy expanded. It is impossible to use those roads without building new ones. There will be traffic jams here and there during the Olympics and Paralympics.
我並不是關切準備的進展.但我們也不要太樂觀,因為還有許多議題要解決.森喜朗說:"看我們高速公路在1964東京奧運興建,附近人口增加,同時我們經濟快速擴展.它不可能利用這些路,如果沒有再興建幾條新的高速公路,那在東京奧運會和殘障奧運那段時間,東京都到處擠爆,交通癱瘓.
“We also have to establish an anti-terrorism policy. Since recently, we have to worry about cyberterrorism, too. It is difficult to predict how it will happen but we have to deal with it.”
我們也必須一套反恐怖主義措施.然而現在也要擔心網路駭客恐怖主義,它很難預測,但我們必須有一套防患措施對付.
Mori identified the fierce summer heat as one of the major problems the Tokyo Games will face. He is aware that his suggestion of introducing daylight saving time in Japan is considered controversial.
森喜朗證實夏日猛熱也是東京奧運將面臨難題之一.他知道在日本引進日光節約時間,也要考慮爭執難題.
“Among OECD and G7 countries, Japan is only one that doesn’t have daylight saving time,” said Mori, who argues that daylight saving time should not be limited to the 2020 Games but should instead continue permanently. “This is an international standard. It is not acceptable that Japan doesn’t have it. I know many people are against this idea, but it also contributes to creating a low-carbon society. Japan should show the world that we are making an effort to make it happen. If we try, introducing daylight saving time can become one of the legacies of the Tokyo Games.”
在經濟合作發展組織和G7諸國,日本是唯一沒有日光節約時間.那些辯論日本節約時間應不受限制,直到2020奧運會.但也有提議永久繼續使用來代替.這是國際間的標準.它不會被接受,而且日本不要它.我知道許多人反對這項主張,但他也要歸功於創造低碳的社會.日本應該展示給世界看,我們盡力使它發生低碳.如果我們嘗試引進日光節約時間,使東京奧運變成一個我們遺產.
The construction of new venues has also become a controversial topic, especially after the cost of the new National Stadium and other new facilities in Tokyo drew public criticism.
新建橄欖球比賽場地也變為爭論問題,尤其新建國立競技場和其他在東京都設備,也引起公眾批評.
But Mori denied that these new facilities would factor heavily in the legacy of 2020.
但是森喜朗否認這些新增設備會大大存留2020東京奧運會的遺產.
“Legacy is not what we make an effort to leave for the future. Legacy comes after we achieve something. Building new stadiums is not everything when it comes to the legacy,” Mori insisted. “The important thing is what people learn or how they change through hosting the Olympics and Paralympics. We did have new stadiums in the 1964 Games. But our real legacy from the 1964 Games was that those new facilities, including highways, helped boost our economy.
”遺產並不是我們盡力遺留在未來.遺產是在我們達到某項事情成功之後.建立新競技場並不是代表一切,當它建築物成為遺產.森喜朗堅持最重要的事讓國人學習到什麼,或國人經由主辦奧運會和殘障奧運如何改變,但是我們在1964奧運會我們真正遺產,是那些新的設備包括高速公路,幫助推動日本經濟.
Mori has been candid about his battle with lung cancer, revealing his diagnosis to the public after a 2016 surgery. He previously recovered from prostate cancer, which was discovered shortly before he became prime minister in 2000. Mori said the Rugby World Cup and 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are motivations to fight the disease.
森坦率地談論他與肺癌的鬥爭在2016手術,透露他的病情公諸於世.他過去罹患前列腺癌,在他當選首相之前,不久就恢復.他說2019橄欖球世界盃2020東京奧運和殘障奧運會是他對抗病情的動機.(譯者註:8月11日日本在輪椅橄欖球世界盃Wheelchair Rugby World Championship優勝62-61擊敗衛冕澳洲 )
“What I want to tell the people in the next generation is to challenge yourself and overcome your limits,” Mori said. “Each person has different abilities. Pick up what you love and believe in yourself in the face of adversity. That is how I have come this far.”
我想告訴下一代子民,要挑戰你自己,克服你的極限.每個人有不同的能力.選擇你所喜愛的的工作,相信自己,在多元化的社會.那也就是我如何成就自我迄今.
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