As they celebrated Naomi Osaka’s victory in the final of the US Open in New York City’s Flushing Meadows on Saturday, Tokyoites were eager to embrace their heroines’ stand against racial injustice.
Osaka, who won her third Grand Slam title with a victory over Victoria Azarenka, has used her platform to support the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, wearing a mask bearing the name of a different African American before each of her seven matches in the championship.
She had donned masks bearing the names of Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd and Philando Castile.
On Saturday, she walked onto the court wearing a mask with the name of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy who was shot and killed by a white police officer in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2014.
Osaka, who has a Japanese mother and Haitian father, has become the face of a changing Japan coming to terms with challenges to its image as a racially homogenous society.
Her efforts on and off the court in New York City were yesterday welcomed by Tokyoites.
“I jumped for joy [at her win],” said Kazuyoshi Hosoya, who was looking to buy an edition of a newspaper celebrating Osaka’s victory. “I know she is protesting and I have heard on TV that she was doing her best to use all the seven face masks [by reaching the final].”
“I think this is amazing that she actually accomplished using all the seven masks,” Hosoya said.
Osaka’s strident views on social media have made her an icon for many young Japanese.
“I am very happy that Naomi, who is an influential person, said ‘Black Lives Matter’ in a public place,” 16-year-old Mari Maeda said. “I am happy that her message was received not only in the US, but also the world, including Japan.”
A report in Japanese newspaper Mainichi on Friday cited unnamed sources at one of her sponsors as criticizing her BLM stance, saying they would prefer her to concentrate on tennis.
With her US Open win, Osaka cannot be accused of letting her activism become a distraction and going by the comments of those in Tokyo, the sponsor might have misjudged public sentiment.
“Including myself, I think there are many people who are not interested in a topic like racism, but [Osaka] has created an opportunity to open the topic,” said Masateru Tanimoto, an office worker. “I think it is a good thing that the issue has become a topic of discussion.”
Additional reporting by AFP
A seven-year-old horse had to be euthanized on Friday after breaking its back on the final fence of a Grand National steeplechase race that it won despite sustaining the serious injury. It follows the death of four horses at the Cheltenham Festival last month — including one after the prestigious Gold Cup. Gold Dancer was competing in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase during Ladies Day at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. The horse managed to cross the finish line approximately four lengths ahead of runner-up Regent’s Stroll. “The winner of our second race of the day, Gold Dancer, was pulled up after
“I don’t remember the moment, but ever since I was a kid, that’s the first thing I loved,” two-time NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas said of his lifelong romance with basketball. However, that journey unfolded against the limitations of his size in a game where height often dictates opportunity — a reality he confronted throughout his career. At 175cm, Thomas is less than 2cm taller than the average Taiwanese adult male, while NBA players during his career stood at about 200cm on average. Compared with the NBA’s average career length of less than five years, Thomas’ 13-season career stands out as
Hans Niemann declares he would become a “stone cold killer” in a Netflix documentary released on Tuesday about his feud with five-time classical world champion Magnus Carlsen, a pledge that injects new edge into the lingering fallout from the cheating scandal that shook elite chess. “I’m gonna be a stone cold killer the rest of my life,” the US’ Niemann says in the film. “I’m going to become the best player in the world, and no one is going to believe that now, but this clip will play over and over again in 10 years — just wait.” “I just
Dakar and Rabat have longstanding ties, but relations have been strained since the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final, which Senegal won in mid-January before being stripped of the title, which was transferred to Morocco. Now, the AFCON trophy is something of a thorn in the two countries’ sides. On Rue Mohamed V, the street where Moroccan vendors are based in the Senegalese capital, a police van is parked. “The police have been on high alert since the Confederation of African Football [CAF] decided to award the title to Morocco, but there have been no incidents,” a local resident said.
RSS