From FSO -
Yahoo News Japan (Japan): the Japanese thank Zagitova for coming to the country
Alina Zagitova (Russia, 19 years old), gold medalist of the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang in figure skating, on May 27 completed her visit to Japan a year and a half after her previous visit to the country and returned to her homeland in Russia. Alina was last in Japan in December 2019 and since then has not been able to visit us due to the global coronavirus pandemic. This time Zagitova was invited to Japan by the Japan-Russia Friendship Consortium for Culture and Sports. At this invitation, the Olympic champion was in Japan from May 15 for 13 days.
On May 23, Zagitova visited the city of Odate in Akita Prefecture and took part in the opening ceremony of the screening of the joint Russian-Japanese film "The Story of Hachi and the Palm" (since May 28, the film has been shown on a wide screen in Japan). In the episodes of the film, Alina herself and her dog of the Akita Inu breed Masaru, donated to the skater by the Society for the Protection of this breed, located in the same city, starred. Zagitova greeted the audience from the stage of the Odate Cultural Center in Japanese, talking about the history of the film. Here Zagitova was shown her brother, her dog, Shodai. On May 25, in Tokyo, Alina recorded a special ice show program in honor of Japanese-Russian friendship.
How did Zagitova's trip turn out in general? We interviewed Hirokuni Tanioka (39), CEO of CB Co., Ltd., which sponsored Alina's stay in Japan as part of the Japan-Russia Friendship Consortium for Culture and Sports.
Alina flew to Tokyo on May 15 as part of a group of three, which also included the mother of the champion and the art director of her show, Ararat Zagaryan. The group passed coronavirus tests 72 hours before departure from Moscow and received negative results. After landing in Japan, they passed the tests again and were completely quarantined at the hotel for 3 days. On the last day of quarantine, May 18, Alina celebrated her 19th birthday. The hotel staff presented her with a cake and small souvenirs.
Five days later, in the city of Odate, in the hall where special glass partitions were installed, Alina was handed boxes with gifts and postcards with congratulations from her fans. She thanked everyone politely in Japanese. The city of Akita, the birthplace of the Akita Inu breed, presented Zagitova with a box of special dog food for her Masaru. For this, Alina also thanked her admirers, saying that Masaru would certainly be delighted with the treat. She also noticed that she missed her dog.
"For the entire period, we reserved one floor of the hotel and created the so-called 'spacesuit effect", - said Mr. Tanioka. Zagitova explained: "We strictly followed all the rules prescribed by the coronavirus regime. All the time I spent at the hotel, with the exception of one going to the ice rink to record the show and visit the city of Odate. "
When the project with Zagitova's trip just started, it was impossible to assume that the state of emergency due to covid-19 would exist in Japan for so long. But the organizers really wanted to implement this project, especially since it fell on 2021, which is the year of Japanese-Russian exchanges between regions and twin cities.
During the stay of Zagitova's group in Japan, strict epidemiological precautions were observed. The hotel employees took the crown tests every day. Zagitova and her accompanying persons wrote obligations to leave the hotel only within the framework of the events proposed by the program. The group was unable to use public transport. Therefore, Alina traveled from Tokyo to Odate by car. It was quite tedious and took 10 hours. Tests were also taken by members of the journalistic corps who worked on covering the program of Zagitova's stay. Even the routes of Zagitova's movement in the cultural center in Odate and on the ice rink were carefully worked out.
“As for food, then, of course, visiting the city catering points was excluded. Zagitova and her group members ate only at the hotel, ”explained Mr Tanioka. Sponsors have successfully cooperated with the hotel restaurant, trying to diversify the menu for their guests. They were offered European, Japanese, and even Russian cuisine. The group was even treated to traditional borscht. They ate in a special room on the floor.
The members of the group could not leave the hotel due to restrictions related to the coronavirus. The organizers were very worried that Zagitova had a difficult 10-hour journey by car to Odate and back. However, she endured the trip quite easily and even said that on the way she was interested in "getting to know Japan in a new way, from the car window." Usually, in her previous visits to Japan, she always had a very busy schedule, leaving no time for calm contemplation of the environment, but now she "seemed to be re-acquainted with Tokyo, its streets and people on them." When the car drove past the imperial palace, Zagitova, according to her, "literally glared at its peculiar architecture and then remembered the picture she saw for a long time."
The program included a visit to the Russian embassy in Japan. However, he had to be abandoned due to covid restrictions for the persons accompanying Zagitova. At the same time, a courtesy visit was organized for her to the House of Representatives of the Japanese Parliament, where she was received by the Chairman of the Budget Committee Katsutoshi Kaneda, a deputy from Akita Prefecture. Before that, Mr. Kaneda, specifically 3 days before the meeting, passed a coronavirus test, which turned out to be negative. The Japanese parliamentarian thanked Alina for her participation in the presentation of the Russian-Japanese film "Hati and Palma" and for her work on the development of Russian-Japanese friendship. He told the Olympic champion about his native Akita prefecture, which he represents in parliament.
On May 25, Zagitova recorded her special ice program at a skating rink in Tokyo. Wearing a silver dress, she demonstrated her famous silk skating and amazing spins, accompanied by a special arrangement of the theme song of the film "Waiting for Love" performed by the CHEMISTRY group led by popular singer and composer Yoshikuni Dotin. The program was dedicated to strengthening Japanese-Russian relations and establishing peace and prosperity on earth.
Hirokuni Tanioka said: “We specially invited Zagitova to Japan to present a new joint Russian-Japanese film and to record the ice program. It is very flattering for Japan that this program was recorded here by the Russian Olympic champion, who is one of the leading figure skaters in the world. This allowed her to play the role of a kind of "bridge of Russian-Japanese friendship." I am very glad that both Japanese and Russian directors and musicians participated in the creation of Zagitova's program. This demonstrates the effectiveness of cultural ties between Japan and Russia and their desire for friendship. "
On May 27, after completing all the activities of her stay in Japan, Alina Zagitova left the country with a wide smile on her face. Waving to all the organizers of her program, she told them in Japanese: "See you again!" She added, “Thank you to everyone who has done so much to make my stay in Japan rewarding and rewarding. Thanks to your efforts, we all managed to avoid the difficulties that could be expected given the pandemic. ”
And Hirokuni Tanioka, who successfully fulfilled his mission of the host country and ensured the smooth implementation of the program (during the entire period of Zagitova's stay around the project, not a single participant who passed a positive crown test was identified) said: “I am happy that we managed to ensure safety to the end. our guest, and that with the help of the Ministry of Culture, we have successfully completed the entire program. "
In parting, Zagitova told her Japanese friends: “I want to come to Japan again. I like this country. I hope that the coronavirus pandemic will soon be defeated, and you and I will no longer have to observe social distance and other restrictions associated with it. "
A special ice "friendship program" recorded by Zagitova was filmed with four cameras using the latest equipment, incl. drones, and is currently being assembled for "polygonal video projection". The content will be available on the au Smart Pass Premium platform from mid to late June this year.
Comments from Japanese readers
mit
Great article. It's good that I was able to read it!
Thanks to all sponsors and project participants. Special thanks to Alina, her mother and director. Well done, that we withstood all the difficulties of the pandemic.
Thank you all for your hard work!
www
Articles appeared in the Russian press claiming that the Japanese on Yahoo were criticizing Zagitova's visit. Not true! On the contrary, we welcome her current stay in Japan. Be sure to publish this article in Russia! We wish Zagitova health and strength!
kan
Quarantine for 3 days is a bit short. But if you look at everything comprehensively, the organizers have taken all possible security measures. And a separate floor in the hotel, and food, and road transport in Odate. Thanks to everyone who participated in the project!
han
Even traditional Russian borscht was foreseen! Apparently, this is very stress relieving. Similarly, the Japanese abroad should be given miso-sira!
har
Let Alina return to sports! If not for the Beijing Olympics, then the next one! After all, Alina is only 19 years old!
yam
This is the beauty of figure skating! Thanks to Zagitova, you begin to understand that jumping is not everything in it!
oje
We, the Japanese, love Zagitova very much. Her smile has a beneficial effect on us!
MPPJ
So Zagitova left Japan, and the Russians immediately arrested a Japanese crab ship!
SP
What a beautiful Zagitova! It seems like a goddess is dancing!
JIS
Was it necessary to carry out this project during the covid-19 pandemic?
Maybe online events would be enough?
eru
It's good that this article explains what maximum security measures were taken during Zagitova's stay in Japan! It seems that it is ideally suited for the role of a "bridge" in the development of friendly relations between Japan and Russia! We will closely monitor this activity in the future!
adv
It would be necessary to apply the same rules to all participants in the Olympics as to Zagitova!
gam
It's good that we were told about all these problems with anti-sag rules.
Zagitova-san, thank you for your hard work!
kooooo
It's good that Alina visited Japan without haste! Let him come again!
rqt
Thanks for the great article!
https://inosmi.ru/social/20210531/249831894.html
Japanese to Russian to English. They really went above and beyond to follow every single restriction put in place. I am impressed. Also I wonder if Masaru is sharing her Japanese dog food with the other munchkins?
