Salon Wanderlust | Plastered in Nagano

T A B L E_T A L K
Romance on the road: Ever had an affair while traveling? Swap stories in Wanderlust

R E C E N T L Y
Passionate and penniless in Paris
By Maxine Rose Schur
A magical memory
(02/13/98)
Retro burger
By Gary Kamiya
Our Olympics correspondent muses on women's hockey, Japanese English, the quest for tosto and other cross-cultural oddities
(02/12/98)
Stoned on ice
By Gary Kamiya
Curling heats up Nagano
(02/11/98)
Après moi, de luge
By Gary Kamiya
Getting a half-second high from the sport that gives a whole new meaning to the expression "balls out"
(02/10/98)
Higher! Faster! Wetter!
By Gary Kamiya
Our half-Japanese man in Japan reports on the thrill of victory -- and the agony of Nagano
(02/09/98)

Browse the
Feature archives

plastered in nagano______

OLYMPICS SPONSORS' ADS
ARE ALL OVER TOWN -- AND THE
LOCALS DON'T LIKE IT.
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Editor's note: During the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, Salon is joining forces with the Japanese publishing company ASCII to present bilingual, bicultural coverage of the Games. Articles by ASCII's journalists will appear in English translations in Salon, and articles by Salon's reporters will appear in Japanese on the ASCII Olympics site. The article below is our second offering in this venture. You can learn about ASCII on its English site.
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BY KOYA IDE | In Nagano, there is an area where hundreds of small taverns are situated. If you are interested in what the citizens of Nagano really think about the Olympics, you should visit one of these pubs instead of the PR section of the Nagano Olympic Organizing Committee.
"I'm so sick of the Olympic officials telling us what to eat, drink and wear. I don't call this a 'sports festival.' This is a sponsors' festival." These are sentiments I frequently encounter in this part of town.
Drinkers are not the only ones critical of the Olympics. "The current Olympic-first trend reminds me of the time during World War II," says Mr. Ariga, mayor of Matsumoto, a town in Nagano prefecture. The mayor compares the current situation in Nagano to the national atmosphere during the war, when anyone who refused to cooperate with the officials carrying out the war was accused of being "unpatriotic" or a "traitor."
Nagano struggled very hard to win the fierce battle against other candidates to host the Olympics. So why on earth should people in Nagano feel so unhappy about the Olympics at this stage?
One of the major reasons is NAOC's strict license control and the sponsors' heavy advertising presence.
For example: A local volunteer offered to treat visiting tourists with a free snack (oyaki, a local specialty bun, and tonjiru, hot pork miso soup). The NAOC official said no, because "oyaki conflicts with the product of one of the sponsors, and tonjiru conflicts with that of another sponsor."
Recently, many companies have been running ads on the whole body of a bus. An advertising salesman for a local bus company says, "One NAOC official told us that carrying ads of non-sponsors is 'not favorable.' So we are now declining offers from non-sponsors." As a result, many buses from different bus companies are appearing covered with the same sponsors' ads. This is causing trouble for local users who can't distinguish the buses.
In the background of the Olympic Stadium, where the Opening Ceremonies took place, there is a big signboard of a local tavern rising into the sky. The sign features a very Japanese design and is not as sophisticated as the advertisements of the Olympic sponsors. Since it happens to be situated right behind the stadium, officials knew it would always appear in TV broadcasts, and NAOC had to turn to the International Olympic Committee for advice. As it turned out, the IOC replied, "It's no problem as long as the sign is written only in Japanese." However, NAOC is said to have bought off the right to the rooftop advertisement of the building behind the signboard for 3 million yen ($25,000) to prevent non-sponsors from putting up ads there.
N E X T+P A G E+| Kodak stomps into town

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN GICHIGI /ALLSPORT
Archived images are provided by Allsport Photography USA, Inc. all rights reserved, any redistribution, resale, re-print or other use is strictly prohibited without written consent from Allsport Photography USA, Inc. directly.


T A B L E_T A L K Romance on the road: Ever had an affair while traveling? Swap stories in Wanderlust R E C E N T L Y Passionate and penniless in Paris By Maxine Rose Schur A magical memory (02/13/98) Retro burger By Gary Kamiya Our Olympics correspondent muses on women's hockey, Japanese English, the quest for tosto and other cross-cultural oddities (02/12/98) Stoned on ice By Gary Kamiya Curling heats up Nagano (02/11/98) Après moi, de luge By Gary Kamiya Getting a half-second high from the sport that gives a whole new meaning to the expression "balls out" (02/10/98) Higher! Faster! Wetter! By Gary Kamiya Our half-Japanese man in Japan reports on the thrill of victory -- and the agony of Nagano (02/09/98) Browse the Feature archives		plastered in nagano______ OLYMPICS SPONSORS' ADS ARE ALL OVER TOWN -- AND THE LOCALS DON'T LIKE IT. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Editor's note: During the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, Salon is joining forces with the Japanese publishing company ASCII to present bilingual, bicultural coverage of the Games. Articles by ASCII's journalists will appear in English translations in Salon, and articles by Salon's reporters will appear in Japanese on the ASCII Olympics site. The article below is our second offering in this venture. You can learn about ASCII on its English site. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - BY KOYA IDE \| In Nagano, there is an area where hundreds of small taverns are situated. If you are interested in what the citizens of Nagano really think about the Olympics, you should visit one of these pubs instead of the PR section of the Nagano Olympic Organizing Committee. "I'm so sick of the Olympic officials telling us what to eat, drink and wear. I don't call this a 'sports festival.' This is a sponsors' festival." These are sentiments I frequently encounter in this part of town. Drinkers are not the only ones critical of the Olympics. "The current Olympic-first trend reminds me of the time during World War II," says Mr. Ariga, mayor of Matsumoto, a town in Nagano prefecture. The mayor compares the current situation in Nagano to the national atmosphere during the war, when anyone who refused to cooperate with the officials carrying out the war was accused of being "unpatriotic" or a "traitor." Nagano struggled very hard to win the fierce battle against other candidates to host the Olympics. So why on earth should people in Nagano feel so unhappy about the Olympics at this stage? One of the major reasons is NAOC's strict license control and the sponsors' heavy advertising presence. For example: A local volunteer offered to treat visiting tourists with a free snack (oyaki, a local specialty bun, and tonjiru, hot pork miso soup). The NAOC official said no, because "oyaki conflicts with the product of one of the sponsors, and tonjiru conflicts with that of another sponsor." Recently, many companies have been running ads on the whole body of a bus. An advertising salesman for a local bus company says, "One NAOC official told us that carrying ads of non-sponsors is 'not favorable.' So we are now declining offers from non-sponsors." As a result, many buses from different bus companies are appearing covered with the same sponsors' ads. This is causing trouble for local users who can't distinguish the buses. In the background of the Olympic Stadium, where the Opening Ceremonies took place, there is a big signboard of a local tavern rising into the sky. The sign features a very Japanese design and is not as sophisticated as the advertisements of the Olympic sponsors. Since it happens to be situated right behind the stadium, officials knew it would always appear in TV broadcasts, and NAOC had to turn to the International Olympic Committee for advice. As it turned out, the IOC replied, "It's no problem as long as the sign is written only in Japanese." However, NAOC is said to have bought off the right to the rooftop advertisement of the building behind the signboard for 3 million yen ($25,000) to prevent non-sponsors from putting up ads there. N E X T+P A G E+\| Kodak stomps into town PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN GICHIGI /ALLSPORT Archived images are provided by Allsport Photography USA, Inc. all rights reserved, any redistribution, resale, re-print or other use is strictly prohibited without written consent from Allsport Photography USA, Inc. directly.