May 9, 2021
Former Japan rugby player and sports education scholar Tsuyoshi Hirao insists that it is time for athletes to come forward and share their opinions about the troubled Tokyo Olympics, saying that their voices are more legitimate and powerful.
Earlier this month, Hirao, who serves as a professor at Kobe Shinwa Women’s University, wrote a series of Twitter posts encouraging athletes to publicly express their thoughts on the Tokyo Games, which are in the midst of turmoil over the COVID-19 pandemic and receiving little support from the Japanese public.
Former rugby player Tsuyoshi Hirao, now a sports education professor at Kobe Shinwa Women’s University, believes Japanese athletes have a greater responsibility to voice their opinions on the controversial Tokyo Olympics. | COURTESY OF TSUYOSHI HIRAO