USA Today (February 21)
“They have come to an end, the strangest, most controversial, most unwelcoming Olympic Games of our lifetime…. This wasn’t a joyous festival of sport; this was a forbidding fortress of separation.” Furthermore, “the issues emanating from Beijing’s Olympics were far more serious, making the Tokyo Olympics look almost normal by comparison.”
Tags: Beijing, Controversial, End, Festival, Forbidding, Fortress, Joyous, Olympic Games, Separation, Serious, Sport, Strangest, Unwelcoming
Washington Post (April 27)
“It was supposed to be a period of joyous national celebration, the Golden Week public holiday, which has been extended this year to celebrate the ascension of a new emperor to the Chrysanthemum Throne.” Instead, many Japanese are “miserable and stressed,” especially those in the service industry who have to work. In fact, recent polls show that “more people were unhappy than were happy with the long break.”
Tags: Ascension, Celebration, Chrysanthemum Throne, Emperor, Golden Week, Japan, Joyous, Miserable, Stressed, Unhappy
