The opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics held on the night of the 23rd.
Some of the foreigners living in Japan stared at the ceremony with a special feeling.
Cho Cho So (57), who runs a Myanmar restaurant in Takadanobaba, Tokyo, where many Burmese people in Japan gather and is also called "Little Yangon", closed the shop at 8 pm and then his friends living nearby. I watched the opening ceremony on TV.
Cho Cho So, who fled to Japan after participating in the 1988 democratization movement and lived as a refugee, has continued to support the democratization movement in his country even after coming to Japan.
Since the coup d'etat in February, protests have been raised against the military, including a march in Tokyo with other Burmese residents in Japan.
At the Tokyo Games, two players are scheduled to participate in badminton and shooting, but at the opening ceremony, a male flag bearer entered alone, and Mr. Chochoso looked at the situation with a serious expression and said, "Why two people? It's a pity that we won't let the players enter the venue. "
In addition, while more than 900 citizens have been killed by the crackdown by the military in the summary of human rights groups in Myanmar, Mr. Cho Cho So said about this tournament, "The idea of the Olympics is" peace "and" equality. " But that's not the case with us in Myanmar. It's really complicated. "
On top of that, while some athletes expressed their willingness to protest and stated that they would not participate under the current system, based on the situation where athletes participating under the rule of the military were criticized on SNS, "Olympic as an athlete" Is the biggest stage, and I think I've spent my life, so I understand the desire to participate. At the same time as participating as a representative of Myanmar, I think that it is possible to express peace about what the people of Myanmar want. I would like the international community to take the opportunity of the Games to take a deeper interest and support. "