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1940 East Asian Games (Japan)

image by Miles Li, 4 February 2021

Introduction

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Introduction

The 1940 Summer Olympics, which would have been held in Tokyo, Japan, was abandoned in 1938 due to the Second Sino-Japanese War. (It would have been held in Helsinki, Finland instead, but that too was abandoned due to World War II.) Nonetheless a scaled-down multi-sport event, the 1940 East Asian Games, was held in Tokyo from 5 to 9 June 1940, then in Kansai from 13 to 16 June 1940. Ostensibly to celebrate the 2600th anniversary of the Japanese Empire, it was attended mainly by athletes from Japan and its puppet states.
Miles Li, 4 February 2021

As an alternative to the Tokyo Olympics, the Toa (East Asia) Games was decided to be held in Japan in June 1940 as an event commemorating the 2,600th anniversary of the Imperial history . Some documents conclude that this event is a development of the Japan-China Friendship Games. It was the first time in 10 years since the 9th Far Eastern Championships that an international competition was held in Japan. Six countries participated in the Games. Manchukuo State, China (Ying Yingming Government), Mongolia (Mongolia United Autonomous Government) the Philippines and Hawaii U.S. autonomous territories, but Japanese immigrants in Hawaii participated. We can see the Games flag from NHK News (No2) archives.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 4 February 2021