After the Tokyo Olympics conclude on Sunday, much political and media debate in the coming weeks and months will no doubt be about the legacy of the Games for Tokyo, Japan and the world.
But in the Kansai region, discussions about the Tokyo Olympics are unlikely to dwell on the grand meaning of the Games, and certainly there is little local interest in long-winded commentary about their impact on Tokyo’s political and economic future.
Rather, Kansai’s political and business leaders are more likely to focus on the logistics of holding the Olympics during a pandemic and what lessons — good and bad — might be drawn from Tokyo’s experience for two upcoming events of their own: the World Masters Games Kansai (WMG) and the 2025 World Expo.