Tokyo Photo News October 2007

On October 2, the TOKYO 2016 Olympic Games Bid Committee held a ceremony at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office to appoint athlete ambassadors. Looking toward Tokyo’s bid for the 2016 Olympic Games, eight currently active athletes were chosen, including swimmer Kosuke Kitajima. At the ceremony, Mr. Kitajima stated, “I will probably not be a competitor in the 2016 Olympic Games, but I want to bring dreams to children by making the Olympic Games in Tokyo a reality.” The athlete ambassadors will participate in various promotion activities as the public face of the bid campaign. Photo: Mr. Kitajima shakes hands with Governor Ishihara in front of an Olympic publicity bus bearing his image

On October 1, a presentation ceremony was held for the 2007 Tokyo Honorary Citizen Award and the 2007 Tokyo Merit Award at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government office. The title of Honorary Citizen is conferred on esteemed Tokyo citizens as a tribute to their achievements in fields including culture, academics, and art. This year Governor Ishihara recognized three individuals with honorary citizen awards: origami artist Saburo Kase, Akira Tago, who is a professor emeritus of psychology at Chiba University, and Yasutaka Matsudaira, the coach who led Japan’s volleyball team to the gold medal at the Munich Olympics. In addition, the governor presented 265 people with the Tokyo Merit Award, which recognizes those contributing to local community development. Photo: Mr. Matsudaira (right) offers words of thanks to Governor Ishihara upon receiving the award

On October 26, a team of veteran Chinese table tennis players paid a courtesy call on Governor Ishihara at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government office. The group, including 11 former world champions, visited Japan to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral relations between Japan and China. The group’s leader, Mr. Xu Yinsheng, said, “We are very glad that we have been able to visit Japan during this commemorative 2007 China-Japan Culture and Sports Exchange Year.” Commemorative photographs were taken in a friendly atmosphere, with Governor Ishihara and Mr. Xu both striking a pose, holding rackets in their right hands and balls in the left.

On October 22, a symposium to commemorate the start of “Midori no Tokyo Bokin (Green Tokyo Fundraising Campaign)” took place at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government office. Governor Ishihara spoke of the campaign’s objectives and the need to make Tokyo a greener place in order to achieve the goals of “Tokyo’s Big Change: The 10-Year Plan.” In the keynote speech, architect Tadao Ando presented case studies of greening efforts taken to achieve this aspect of the ten-year plan. Along with Mr. Ando, astronaut Mamoru Mori, and alpinist Ken Noguchi participated in a lively panel discussion that drew the keen interest of attendees. At the end of the session, the audience burst into applause at Mr. Ando’s powerful appeal: “Let’s work together, everyone!”