Tokyo Paralympics in Need of Popularity Boost Says Survey

(ATR) A new survey by ATR Japan suggests that Tokyo 2020 organizers may have trouble filling seats for the Paralympic Games.

The research, based on an internet survey of 170 Japanese students last month, revealed that 62 percent of those asked said they "might watch" or "absolutely would watch" the 2020 Tokyo Games in person.

That figure dropped to 19.4 percent for the Paralympics.

The Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games says the lottery for Tokyo 2020 official tickets will begin this April. About 1.25 million people have already finished ticket ID registration, which is required to buy official tickets.

Following the online lottery, a first come, first served process will begin for the rest of domestic Tokyo 2020 tickets in Fall 2019. Domestic box offices will open in Spring 2020.

The ATR Japan survey also looked at the ways in which people will get their information during Tokyo 2020.

In answer to the question "Usually what media will you most use for getting information during Tokyo 2020?", 55 percent said television or the official Tokyo 2020 website. That was followed by social media, which garnered 49 percent. Next came internet search engines like Google at 22 percent and newspapers at 17 percent. Respondents were allowed more than one answer.

In terms of what is expected from the different forms of media when it comes to Olympic coverage, TV and internet media were the top choice for breaking news and watching live coverage.

Newspapers still have their place, however, as they are considered the best source for detailed information and competition data.

The survey showed that in the age of the internet, television is still strong in Japan when it comes to following the competition at the Olympics, with close to 60 percent saying they would get their information for Tokyo 2020 from TV.

Specifically, 32 percent said they would either watch the games live on TV or record them to watch later. An additional 27 percent would watch the highlights on a "Digest TV program".

Written by Yudai Tanaka in Tokyo

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