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)

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Feature archives

__PLASTERED IN NAGANO _|_ page 2 of 2

Yamamoto Photo Studio, a local shop on the street in front of the stadium, fell prey to the aggression of Eastman Kodak, another sponsor. The shop, since its establishment back in 1922, has been dealing with Fuji Film, and there always has been a green Fuji signboard on one corner of the shop. One day, Kodak requested that the shop take down the Fuji signboard. The shop finally decided to save the faces of both Kodak and Fuji by putting up a yellow Kodak signboard on its other corner.
Recently a huge red signboard for Coca-Cola, another sponsor, appeared on the wall of a building in front of Nagano Station. A man working for a local advertising agency says the government made an exception in permitting the gaudy advertisement just because of the Olympics. "Generally, signboards in that district are strictly regulated by the prefectural scenery code. A signboard with that color and size could not have been permitted if not for the Olympics. I thought Japan was supposed to be a law-abiding society," says the frustrated man.
But the prefectural government denies this allegation. "Neither the size nor the color is in violation of the prefectural code. We would never allow even a single signboard that violated the law just because of the Olympics," says an official. But with official Olympic sponsors' ads flooding the town, many people find this hard to believe.
Nagano Station, the terminal station of the Nagano Shinkansen, or bullet train, which was built in a rush in preparation for the Games, put up a drop curtain with a welcoming message on the wall of the station the week before the Games started. NAOC complained about the small picture of a torch in the corner of the curtain, saying, "This curtain cannot be permitted because the torch reminds people of the Olympic flame." Eventually, officials decided to cover the picture.
Mocking the official concern with sponsors-only advertising, some people are asking, "If we bring some Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pepsi into the stadium, do we get thrown out? If we wear a Nike coat, will the officials cover the mark with tape? What if we bring along a Sharp portable TV?"
One local reporter laments, "It is indeed idiotic that the officials should have to ban even the offering of a free snack of oyaki by volunteers because it would infringe the rights of the sponsors. But the problem is, when we report on what NAOC officials are doing, they take it as a compliment for their faithfulness to their jobs, not as criticism. It's impossible!"
In the end, ironically, those advertisements abounding in the city -- and all the efforts exerted by the sponsors as well as by NAOC -- will not bring about as much effect as expected. Why? Because Nagano, like many Japanese cities, is full of signboards with all kinds of colors -- bright red, blue, yellow -- due to historically lenient scenery regulations. The Olympic sponsors came into a place where signs are already flooding, causing even harsher competition. No other Winter Olympic host city in the past has ever been so crowded with signboards as Nagano.
In this connection, it is probably the official Olympic sponsors that should be grumbling out of frustration in a shabby tavern in downtown Nagano.
(Translated by Hajime Sugimori)
SALON | Feb. 17, 1998
Koya Ide is a journalist who lives in Nagano. He has worked for the newspaper Sankei Shinbun.


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 _\|_ page 2 of 2 Yamamoto Photo Studio, a local shop on the street in front of the stadium, fell prey to the aggression of Eastman Kodak, another sponsor. The shop, since its establishment back in 1922, has been dealing with Fuji Film, and there always has been a green Fuji signboard on one corner of the shop. One day, Kodak requested that the shop take down the Fuji signboard. The shop finally decided to save the faces of both Kodak and Fuji by putting up a yellow Kodak signboard on its other corner. Recently a huge red signboard for Coca-Cola, another sponsor, appeared on the wall of a building in front of Nagano Station. A man working for a local advertising agency says the government made an exception in permitting the gaudy advertisement just because of the Olympics. "Generally, signboards in that district are strictly regulated by the prefectural scenery code. A signboard with that color and size could not have been permitted if not for the Olympics. I thought Japan was supposed to be a law-abiding society," says the frustrated man. But the prefectural government denies this allegation. "Neither the size nor the color is in violation of the prefectural code. We would never allow even a single signboard that violated the law just because of the Olympics," says an official. But with official Olympic sponsors' ads flooding the town, many people find this hard to believe. Nagano Station, the terminal station of the Nagano Shinkansen, or bullet train, which was built in a rush in preparation for the Games, put up a drop curtain with a welcoming message on the wall of the station the week before the Games started. NAOC complained about the small picture of a torch in the corner of the curtain, saying, "This curtain cannot be permitted because the torch reminds people of the Olympic flame." Eventually, officials decided to cover the picture. Mocking the official concern with sponsors-only advertising, some people are asking, "If we bring some Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pepsi into the stadium, do we get thrown out? If we wear a Nike coat, will the officials cover the mark with tape? What if we bring along a Sharp portable TV?" One local reporter laments, "It is indeed idiotic that the officials should have to ban even the offering of a free snack of oyaki by volunteers because it would infringe the rights of the sponsors. But the problem is, when we report on what NAOC officials are doing, they take it as a compliment for their faithfulness to their jobs, not as criticism. It's impossible!" In the end, ironically, those advertisements abounding in the city -- and all the efforts exerted by the sponsors as well as by NAOC -- will not bring about as much effect as expected. Why? Because Nagano, like many Japanese cities, is full of signboards with all kinds of colors -- bright red, blue, yellow -- due to historically lenient scenery regulations. The Olympic sponsors came into a place where signs are already flooding, causing even harsher competition. No other Winter Olympic host city in the past has ever been so crowded with signboards as Nagano. In this connection, it is probably the official Olympic sponsors that should be grumbling out of frustration in a shabby tavern in downtown Nagano. (Translated by Hajime Sugimori) SALON \| Feb. 17, 1998 Koya Ide is a journalist who lives in Nagano. He has worked for the newspaper Sankei Shinbun.