The Olympic theme songs (TOTS) play an essential role in providing dramatic effects for TV programs, as well as a legacy transmission to hand on to the new generation the excitement that sweeps through the nation during the worlds’greatest sports event. We investigated the origin of the Japanese Olympic theme music. In our study, three official theme musical compositions and the Olympic theme music employed by the Olympic broadcasters during the three Olympics held in Japan (Tokyo, Sapporo, Nagano) were included. We reviewed papers regarding the theme music for the Olympics and interviewed the composers of the official Olympic theme songs and the program producers of Olympic broadcasting channels. We found several common points between each TOTS. Firstly, all of the official theme songs were released more than a half a year before the Olympics opening ceremony. Furthermore, these songs were broadcast on the music programs of the Japanese national broadcasting station (NHK) of the games, such as “Minna no Uta (English title : Songs for Everyone)” and “NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen (English title : NHK Red and White Song Battle)”. Additionally, during these times the composition competitions of the theme compositions were held, and multiple artists participated in this competition and covered the theme compositions. On the other hand, TOTS of the news broadcasting was first introduced in 1988. In a quarter of the cases, the implementation of TOTS was linked to the employment of news casters, as they employed publicly well-known and experienced celebrities as both casters and performers of TOTS. It has been speculated that, since the private news broadcasters have fewer slots available to cover Olympic games compared to NHK, this was a measure taken to enhance the opportunity for TV appearances by engaging theme songs with Olympic coverage.

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The five-minute music program 'MINNA NO UTA' (Everyone's Songs), which has been broadcast on NHK since 1961, has contributed to the popularization of new children's songs. It has created about one thousand tunes, influencing musical education and popular music in Japan. This paper explores the characteristics and meanings of this program by focusing on its text as well as the processes of its production and consumption. My research involved conducting interviews with directors and distributing questionnaires to audiences. My aim is to explain the uses of this program by audiences through their everyday lives and how this TV program contributes to creating new children's songs. My conclusions are, firstly, that this program has a distinctive history that has been flexibly transforming songs into appropriate styles for children in the TV age. Secondly, these songs played a role in constructing a national collective identity for everyone (including grown-ups), especially from the 60s to the 80s, because these texts have functioned as 'national music' mediated by a state channel.

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