Friday marked one month since the start of the application period for volunteers hoping to be involved in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, but the recruitment drive has had mixed results so far.
More than 50,000 people have already applied to be 2020 Tokyo Games Volunteers, who will be involved in activities such as assisting operations at competition venues. The organizing committee wants to recruit 80,000 such volunteers, and the number of applicants combined with provisional applicants has already topped 90,000.
By contrast, the number of applicants to be City Volunteers, who are being recruited by the Tokyo metropolitan government to assist Games spectators and visitors at locations such as popular tourist spots, has reached only 30 percent of the quota. The metropolitan government will step up a promotional campaign to attract more volunteers before applications close in December.
Games Volunteers will provide assistance such as guiding spectators and Games-related personnel at competition venues, and take supporting roles at medal and other ceremonies. Some observers initially criticized the application requirement that volunteers help for "at least 10 days" as being too strict, but as of Monday, 52,249 people had completed their applications. When provisional registrations made on the application website are factored in, this number reaches 92,920 -- well above the 80,000 volunteers the committee wanted to recruit.
"I'm relieved the recruitment drive has made a better start than expected," a committee official said.
On the other hand, City Volunteers recruited by the Tokyo government will provide tourism and transport information and guidance at an airport, major train stations and near competition venues. As of Tuesday, 6,012 people had applied to be City Volunteers -- just 30 percent of the 20,000 volunteers the metropolitan government hopes to recruit.
A drive by the Saitama prefectural government to recruit similar volunteers attracted 9,650 applications for 5,400 positions before it finished at the end of September. "In Tokyo, it seems many potential volunteers have leaned toward becoming Games Volunteers because they can be engaged in activities closer to the athletes," a senior metropolitan government official said.
The Tokyo government will launch a PR blitz highlighting the conditions for participating as a City Volunteer. For example, people can apply to be both Games and City Volunteers, with the minimum length of duty for the latter set at "at least five days." They can also apply to be City Volunteers in groups of four.
"We really hope people will cooperate and take part in activities in which they will be the 'face' of Tokyo," a metropolitan government official said.
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