February 22, 2015
Tokyo Marathon 2015
Governor Masuzoe attended the Tokyo Marathon 2015 on Sunday, February 22, as the event chairman.
Since the Tokyo Marathon was first held in 2007, the event has become a fixture as one of Japan’s leading citizen’s marathons. Having joined the World Marathon Majors in 2012, the event continues to mature, and now also attracts international attention.
The governor greeted the crowd at the starting line, saying, “Tokyo unites today. I hope you will keep this in mind as you run through the heart of the city,” and then fired the starting pistol.
After sending off the runners in a cloud of confetti, the governor moved to the Imperial Palace along the marathon route, encouraging those he encountered. He then moved to the finish line at Tokyo Big Sight to meet runners exerting every last bit of strength to reach the goal.
Following the marathon, the governor said, “I am relieved that the marathon was held without incident, thanks to the efforts of the police, organizers, and others who worked to put safety and security first. This marathon is a major event with 36,000 people running. With the cooperation of 10,000 volunteers and those cheering along the route, everyone came together to make it a success, and we achieved the larger goal of uniting Tokyo as one! In preparation for the 2020 Games, I want to further implement a variety of security measures. Additionally, our translator and interpreter volunteers put forth great efforts, and we tested a new translation app that can translate between 28 languages. As the combination proved very effective, I think that we will be able to offer an even higher level of hospitality to foreign visitors using both human interpreters and the newest devices. Using this event as a practice run for the 2020 Games, I think that we have been able to take the first step of the journey.”
With the state of global affairs growing more severe, security precautions at the event were reinforced more than ever. In addition to increasing the number of metal detectors and surveillance cameras, “running police” were introduced to handle security on the marathon course.
Race Results: Endeshaw Negesse of Ethiopia placed first in the men’s, and Birhane Dibaba placed first in the women’s marathon, making it the first time in the marathon’s history for both winners to be from the same country.
