History’s Olympic hurdles
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics has been delayed. But, as Archie Henderson explains, it’s not the first time for the city – nor for other host nations
For the second time in 82 years, Tokyo has lost an Olympic Games. At least the second loss will not delay the event coming to Japan’s capital for as long as the first, as this year’s Games have been rescheduled to take place in the city next year.
Tokyo’s first loss was in 1938, when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stripped it of the 1940 Olympics. The decision came after worldwide opposition to Japan’s aggressive war in Manchuria, the northern region of China. That war, which had broken out the year before, looked to be going on for much longer than the Japanese military had expected, and is regarded by some historians as the real start to World War 2...
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