Olympics-Judo judge draws strength from heading historic Japanese fireworks firm
30/04/2021 09:08
By Kiyoshi Takenaka
TOKYO, April 30 (Reuters) - Akiko Amano, the sole Japanese
judo referee at this year's Tokyo Olympics, has a full-time job
that involves more heat and energy than a gold medal match: She
is the first female head of a famed fireworks company whose
history goes back 362 years.
When the Kagiya company puts on a fireworks display, which
can attract more than a million spectators, Amano oversees about
100 pyrotechnicians. Although the required skills are quite
different from those of a judo judge, Amano says she draws
strength from her work experience.
"You work with danger hanging over yourself at fireworks
events. In a pinch, you cannot judge and issue instructions to
ensure safety of spectators and your craftsmen unless you are
mentally prepared," Amano, 50, told Reuters.
"For a judo referee, it is extremely important to have the
courage to pass split-second decisions as the situation changes
from moment to moment in a match. That courage and determination
is cultivated by the fireworks job," she added
Amano, ranked by the International Judo Federation (IJF) as
one of the world's top 10 referees, said courage and
determination also apply to the fate of the Tokyo Games, as
Japan struggles with a fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
"I see the Tokyo Olympics as the culmination of my 20-year
career as an IJF referee. But I'm also ready for a possible
cancellation ... I will have no regrets either way," said Amano,
the 15th-generation leader of Kagiya.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has pledged that the event
will go ahead, but a voter survey by Japan's Jiji news agency
showed this month that two-thirds of those polled believed the
Olympics should be postponed again or cancelled.
An Olympic judo referee is not allowed to judge a match
involving a compatriot, so the better Japanese judoists perform,
the less chance Amano will participate in later-stage
competition. But she said she wouldn't mind.
"I was the main referee for the men's 100-kg final match at
the Beijing Olympics. I've already tasted the gravity and joy
that come with it," Amano said. "This time, I'm just thrilled
with the prospects of being able to watch, up close, Japanese
athletes fighting it out."
The Tokyo Olympics, delayed by a year because of the
pandemic, are scheduled to open on July 23. Japan traditionally
dominates judo at the Games.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
((kiyoshi.takenaka@thomsonreuters.com; +81 3 4563 2788;))