Media Representations of the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics in Japan

Abstract

This article examines media representations of the 1932 Olympic Games in Japanese newspapers. In Japan, the Olympics attained a certain level of popularity for the first time in 1932. Previous studies have shown that the Japanese mass media, particularly after the Manchurian Incident of 1931, played an important role in the militarization of the country. On the other hand, idealistic universalism has been claimed globally in the realm of international sports. This research attempts to explore the relationships between extreme nationalism and internationalism in Japanese media coverage of international sports in the early 1930s. Methodologically, the study uses both quantitative and qualitative textural analysis. First, the coverage of the 1932 Games in three newspapers (Tokyo Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo Nichinichi Shimbun, and Yomiuri Shimbun), and that of the 1928 Games in Tokyo Asahi Shimbun is analyzed quantitatively. Second, newspaper articles about the departure of the Japanese team, the opening and closing ceremonies, and the victory of a Japanese athlete, are analyzed qualitatively with a view to explore the roles of Olympic media reports in reconstituting nationalism. The results suggest that Japanese media coverage of the 1932 Olympics, differing from that of previous Olympics, was characterized by (1) the frequent appearance of national symbols of Japan (for example, the national flag, the national anthem, and representations of the emperor) and deictics (for example, "our athletes" and "homeland"), (2) the differentiation of "Others" (for example, stereotypical portrayals of non-Japanese athletes admiring "our Japanese athletes"), (3) the frequent use of the metaphor of warfare, and (4) representations of social relationships in Japan (for example, the dramatization of Japanese athletes and their families). Rather than being merely jingoism, this contains two elements: one is a discourse that makes people feel a belonging to the nation, which is a part of the international community, and the other is a discourse that is essentially nationalistic and patriotic, emphasizing the divinity of the Japanese national symbols.