Rare official’s badge for the canceled Tokyo 1940 Summer Olympics, from the collection of Frederick Rubien. Set on a mauve 65 mm rosette, the silvered and enameled pin, 30 mm in diameter, shows the Olympic rings against Mount Fuji, and reads, “XII Olympiad, Tokyo 1940.” Complete with its wooden presentation box, imprinted on the lid, “The Organizing Committee of the XIIth Olympiad, Tokyo 1940.” The silk liner pad inside the box lid is present but detached. Frederick W. Rubien was the longtime secretary of the American Olympic Committee and a leader in the promotion of amateur athletics in the United States.
The start of the second Sino-Japanese War on July 7, 1937, raised the question among both the Japanese and the international community whether Tokyo still remained a logical Olympic host city. As the Japanese war effort continued to mount, the Games were forfeited to Helsinki, Finland, the runner-up in the original bidding process, but were soon suspended indefinitely following the outbreak of World War II. A solemn remembrance from Tokyo’s lost 1940 Olympics.
