City News Shinagawa -- 2014 New Year Conversation_Supporting Each Other

City News Shinagawa

2014 New Year Conversation
Passing the Baton of Dreams to Children

After winning two bronze medals as a synchronized swimmer at the 1988 Seoul Olympics in the solo and duet divisions, Mikako Kotani continues to help advance sports in Japan even in retirement, including serving on the Executive Board of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC). She is active as a sports commentator and also busy as a mother. In the beginning of the new year we were able to ask for her thoughts on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics/Paralympics as well as on childrearing.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics/Paralympics—A Gift for Children

■Mayor Hamano: Last year Tokyo was selected to host the 2020 Olympics/Paralympics, and we were so happy to hear that. I imagine you also felt especially strongly about it since you helped develop the campaign to host the event.

■Kotani: Yes, that’s right. We were waiting for the announcement in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and when I heard IOC President Jacques Rogge say “Tokyo” I was really happy.

■Hamano: Shinagawa City was also involved in various campaigns, and what we often talked about then was “passing on the baton of dreams to children.”

■Kotani: That’s a wonderful phrase.

■Hamano: Children who are now between the sixth grade of elementary school and junior high school age could well become Olympic athletes, or they may be volunteers welcoming visitors from foreign countries. As one who witnessed the 1964 Tokyo Olympics with his own eyes, I want to give children the same gift in the form of the Tokyo Olympics. “Passing the baton of dreams to children” has this ideal deep inside.

■Kotani: Since I was born in 1966, I’m part of a generation that didn’t experience the previous Tokyo Olympics. However, mothers of my generation are dreaming that our children might somehow be involved in 2020.

■Hamano: We’re currently pouring our efforts into English-language education at the city’s elementary schools, and I will further emphasize how crucial that is from now on. I also hope the children will grow to be adults who can talk about the history, culture and traditions of Japan whenever they come into contact with foreign people, and do so in English! I hope we can welcome the year 2020 after raising children with that ability.

A Chance to Set a Goal and Pursue It with All Our Power

■Hamano: Ms. Kotani, what do you consider the best part of being involved in sports?

■Kotani: Well, because I got involved in synchronized swimming competitions, my Olympic goal was set, and I was able to overcome many different challenges. While working toward my goal, I was determined to work to the point where I thought, “I did everything I could,” and as a result I was able to win a medal.

■Hamano: It shows that doing our best leads to good results, right?

■Kotani: Right. I think this sense of achievement encourages me to keep doing my best. On the other hand, I was only a substitute team member during my second Olympics in Barcelona, and I didn’t win anything. Even that experience was a valuable learning experience for me. I also experienced the bliss of performing in front of an audience, although only twice in my 15 years as a competitive athlete. Experiencing a sense of oneness with the audience is so joyful and fun–I didn’t feel breathless in the water at all.

■Hamano: Perhaps when we’re really working hard, the things we hear, feel and see all seem somewhat different.

■Kotani: I teach children synchronized swimming. One day a student of mine who has been coming for many years to my Oiso, Kanagawa Prefecture class said, “The mountain glowing in the sunset today was so beautiful. I never noticed it before, even though I’ve been coming practically every day all this time.” This was around that time she had been practicing very hard for a performance. I think that when the heart is very content, a person’s sensitivities becomes very rich.

■Hamano: It is a blessing to be able to have such an experience when you’re so young.

■Kotani: It’s essential to have some kind of goal to work toward. It could be sports, art or studies. It’s important, first of all, for children to have the opportunity to try all kinds of things. Perhaps we adults need to consider giving children a chance.

Shinagawa City’s Unique Way of Creating a Supportive Educational Environment

■Kotani: Children have marvelous power. They seem to have their own “growth periods,” where you can almost see arrows pointing in the direction they are growing. And when you praise them, they have a growth spurt and sparkle! If you praise a child who is not able to do a particular technique, and give him or her some self-confidence, suddenly they're able to do it.

■Hamano: Do you think praise is the key?

■Kotani: I’m an advocate of praise since I’ve studied in the USA and am the type that grows with praise. But if he or she does nothing to be praised, then I don’t. Flattery and praise are two different things.

■Hamano: Do you think praise is important in childrearing in your home as well?

■Kotani: Yes, and I do praise my child. Still, it’s hard because it’s so easy to become emotional and subjective. I think that as a person who competed in the Olympics, I'm responsible for helping in areas where I can be useful to society. At the same time, I think that as long as I do my best in rearing my child, the community and society will help me protect and raise my child.

■Hamano: How long have you been living in Shinagawa City?

■Kotani: Since I got married, so that’s 13 years. My friends are so jealous of me. Especially when it comes to childrearing, the public schools in Shinagawa City are really good.

■Hamano: Shinagawa is one of the first cities in Japan to organize innovative educational programs such as the free choice of schools and unified elementary and junior high school education, and Shinagawa City now has permanent teachers. Since the Tokyo Metropolitan Government employs public school teachers, if a decision is made to transfer a teacher to a different location, the teacher would have to leave Shinagawa City.

■Kotani: That would mean someone’s favorite teacher would no longer be here.

■Hamano: That’s right. But since our city has a unique hiring practice, we can avoid that problem. It would be wonderful if we could go back to our alma mater and tell our teachers we were admitted to a university, or consult them about marriage, right? We could build relationships that would last for a lifetime.

■Kotani: During the Olympics promotional campaign last summer, Smile School* really helped us a lot. The community volunteers and childcare workers took good care of the children, playing with them and also helping them with their studies before they went home.

■Hamano: At Smile School, a child who’s good at the Japanese chess game of shogi invited me to play him, and I lost! Apparently a volunteer taught him.

■Kotani: I think Smile School is an excellent place where children can gain all kinds of experience, including meeting children of different ages and people of other generations. Since I believe that Shinagawa City is a good place to raise a child, I’m encouraging my friend who is thinking of moving because she is going to have a baby to come here!

■Hamano: Well, I’m glad to hear that!

■Kotani: The shopping streets in Shinagawa are also very nice. I think that having warm and friendly shopping streets next to refined residential areas is one of Shinagawa’s most attractive qualities.

■Hamano: I hope you’ll walk around various areas and find even more attractive aspects. Well, I was able to hear a lot of delightful stories today. Thank you very much.

■Kotani: Thank you.

*Smile School (an after-school program for all schoolchildren): Smile School offers elementary schoolchildren opportunities to learn and play together within the school facilities, with the aim of nurturing their growth. Besides providing the children free playtime, the school conducts various cultural experience classes and study periods that primarily focus on reviewing study materials.