Eyes of Japan on Beijing

(CNN) -- The sky above Beijing is getting smaller. It's an impression shared by all TV Asahi reporters who have known the city for a long time. A view of the sun setting into a vast plain is now a scene from the past.
A forest of skyscrapers now frames the sky into small squares, and any space left is getting filled with even more buildings competing with their eccentric facades. Beijing specialties, such as bicycles flooding the street and people walking in the city enjoying the cool evening breeze, are no longer to be seen.
What we witness before us is a mega-metropolis undergoing changes at the utmost speed.
Those of us who remember the Tokyo Olympic Games held in 1964 cannot help comparing what is happening in Beijing to the rapid transformation the city of Tokyo underwent to host the event. But the transformation of Beijing seems to even exceed that of Tokyo.
TV Asahi will cover the Beijing Olympics thoroughly as Japan is deeply interested in the event that will become a symbol for a new China. We have increased the number of correspondents stationed in Beijing, and they are already transmitting their coverage of what is happening in China from various angles.
During the Beijing Games, there will be a team of approximately 100 TV Asahi staff members dispatched from Japan to cover not only the events in the arenas but also every piece of news that is related to the Olympics or that happens in China during the Games.
It is going to be the first time in 20 years that the summer Olympic Games will be held in Asia, where the host city is undergoing a very exciting transformation.
As the stage for the Olympics, Beijing is sure to become a very special place for everyone in the world who takes an interest in and watches the event.
It will be the city where great moments that move people's hearts are shared; the setting for exciting competition and feats of great athletic achievement. During the Games the city will beat to the rhythm of the Olympics as even the back streets of Beijing will be full people glued to their TV set, watching the drama unfold.