Masaji Tabata ( ja, 田畑政治) (December 1, 1898 – August 25, 1984) was a Japanese educator,

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, and swimming coach. He was a key figure in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

's successful bid to host the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

. He served as the president of the

Japanese Olympic Committee The is the National Olympic Committee in Japan for the Olympic Games movement, based in Tokyo, Japan. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams and raises funds to send Japanese competitors to Olympic events organised by the Internati ...

from 1973 to 1977.

As a journalist

Tabata was born in

Hamamatsu is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. the city had an estimated population of 791,707 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, and a population density of . The total area of the site was . Overview ...

Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northea ...

, to a family of

sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...

brewery managers. He started working for

the Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...

after graduating from the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

and covered political issues, including the 1936 attempted military coup.

Involvement in sports

Tabata devoted his life to

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

. At the

1932 Los Angeles Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

, he served as the head coach of Japan's swimming team, which won twelve medals, including five golds. Tabata became the president of

Japan Swimming Federation The , is the national federation for Aquatics in Japan. It oversees Japan's Swimming, Diving, Water Polo and Synchronized Swimming competitive programs. It was founded on October 31, 1924.World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Japan was excluded from international sporting events at the time and Tabata worked for his country's early return to world stage. He organized a national swimming championship to coincide with the

1948 London Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

to show off Japanese swimmers' abilities. Competitors including

Hironoshin Furuhashi was a Japanese Olympic freestyle swimmer. In 1948, he set world records in the 400 and 1,500 meter freestyles at the Japan national championships. Furuhashi and Japan were not allowed to compete at the 1948 Summer Olympics because of Japan's r ...

and Shiro Hashizume finished faster than the gold medalists in London, but their records were not recognized worldwide because Japan was not a member of the

International Swimming Federation FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

. Their membership was accepted a year later. Tabata served as the chef demission for Japan's delegation at the

Helsinki Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

in 1952 when his country's participation was accepted for the first time since the war. He held the same position in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

four years later. After Tokyo won the bid to host the 1964 Olympics, Tabata was appointed the head of the Games' organizing committee and lobbied for making women's volleyball an Olympic event. He was forced to resign before the Games due to a dispute over Japan's participation in the

1962 Asian Games ) , Host city = Jakarta, Indonesia , Nations participating = 17 , Athletes participating = 1,460 , Events = 120 in 13 sports , Opening ceremony = 24 August 1962 , Closing ceremony = 4 September 1962 , ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, which hosted the event, refused to issue visas for athletes from

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, and became at odds with the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

. After the Tokyo Olympics, Tabata took part in the foundation of Tokyo Swimming Center, which later produced Olympic medalists including

Kosuke Kitajima is a Japanese retired breaststroke swimmer. He won gold medals at the men's 100 m and 200 m breaststroke events at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and the 2008 Summer Olympics – becoming the first and only swimmer to sweep the breaststroke events at ...

Reiko Nakamura is a Japanese Olympic and Asian record-holding swimmer. She swam in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, winning the bronze medals in the 200m backstroke at both editions. In doing so, she became the first Japanese woman in 72 years to win medals at ...

, and

Haruka Ueda is a Japanese freestyle swimmer. She married swimmer Kazuya Kaneda in 2014. Major achievements * 2005 World Championships – 200m freestyle 22nd (2:01.65) * 2007 World Championships A world championship is generally an international com ...

. Tabata was involved in Japan's successful bid to host the

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Europe ...

and became JOC president in 1973. Tabata died in 1984. He was 85.

References

*立教大学体育会水泳部の歴史-3 *古橋広之進 - 国際留学生協会 * 【オリンピズム】五輪旗と組織委員会（4）スポーツ界自立に人生捧ぐ - 産経ニュース 2013.10.29 *紛糾したアジア競技大会とGANEFO。そしてインドネシアと北朝鮮の引き揚げ - 日本オリンピック委員会（コラム「東京オリンピック開催へ」 Vol.3） {{DEFAULTSORT:Tabata, Masaji 1898 births 1984 deaths Members of the Japanese Olympic Committee University of Tokyo alumni

As a journalist

Involvement in sports

See also

References