Tokyo 2020 Olympics Notebook - Day 19
A bottle of Japanese rice wine, or Sake (left), and the little concoction that clears alcohol from the system.
What you need to know:
- Japanese shops are full of these little “energy drinks” usually made from herbal concoctions
- It is not uncommon for leaders in Japan to quit if anything under their command goes awry
- The fact that spectators are not allowed at competition venues has posed an interesting challenge to both officials and athletes at these Games
Little drink ‘deletes’ alcohol from body system
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My friend lives in Tokyo and has actually taken up Japanese citizenship after living in the land of the rising sun for 30-plus years. On Thursday, he told me about this special drink in a little bottle they take here to “build gabions” and limit damage to internal organs visited in one’s system by alcoholic beverages. Before imbibing liquor, you simply gulp this drink and, in his words, “it will delete all the alcohol in your body.” Japanese shops are full of these little “energy drinks” usually made from herbal concoctions. I purchased a few.
Japanese take responsibility for failure
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Mitsubishi Electric Corporation’s Senior Vice President Kei Urama, 62, has taken over as the company’s President and CEO. This follows the resignation of Takeshi Sugiyama, 64, who resigned to take blame for the company’s fraudulent inspection of air conditioners and other equipment installed in trains. It is not uncommon for leaders in Japan to quit if anything under their command goes awry. In Kenya, we simply say “I shall not resign… over my dead body,” even when lives are lost under our watch! Sad.
Augmented reality for track and field show
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World Athletics will be trying out augmented reality, including imagined crowd noise, when the eagerly-awaited track and field programme at the Olympic Games starts today. World Athletics President Seb Coe also says the role of stadium announcers will change to make them “more athlete-centred” rather than crowd-inclined. The fact that spectators are not allowed at competition venues has posed an interesting challenge to both officials and athletes at these Games.
