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

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, and swimming coach. He was a key figure in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

's successful bid to host the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 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 honor was subseq ...

. 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 Cities of Japan, city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. In September 2023, the city had an estimated population of 780,128 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, with a population density of over the t ...

Shizuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...

, to a family of

sake Sake, , or saki, 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 indeed any East Asi ...

brewery managers. He started working for

the Asahi Shimbun is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the ''Yom ...

after graduating from the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

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, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

. At the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, 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 after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 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 ...

and

Shiro Hashizume was a Japanese Olympic freestyle swimmer. He won the silver medal in the men's 1500m freestyle at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. He broke the world record in the same event on August 16, 1949, clocking 18:35.7. That time was bet ...

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 World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (; ), is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in water sports. It is one of several international federations whi ...

. Their membership was accepted a year later. Tabata served as the chef demission for Japan's delegation at the Helsinki Olympics 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 language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

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 The 1962 Asian Games () also known as the 4th Asian Games, IV Asiad, and Jakarta 1962, were the fourth edition of pan-Asian multi-sport event sanctioned by the Asian Games Federation (AGF). The games were held from 24 August to 4 September 1962, ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

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

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, and became at odds with the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

. 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 – 100m freestyle 39th (57.21) * 2008 Beijing Olympi ...

. 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 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside ...

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 Presidents of the Japan Swimming Federation

As a journalist

Involvement in sports

See also

References