by Brian Scherschel

Since the beginning, Kaijuvision Radio has had a unique mission.  Hence the emphasis on culture, history, and global issues.

This mission carries over into social media.  There are plenty of sources on Godzilla-related news already.  Why devote time to duplicating what’s already out there?  Everyone’s seen the latest “King of the Monsters screenshot”.  Not everyone knows about what’s going on in the South China Sea.

That’s why I post about Japanese history, current events in East Asia, and Japan-related stories of local interest.  Just because something isn’t directly related to Godzilla, it has to do with the show’s mission.

Takuma Sato won the Indianapolis 500 in 2017.  He’s the first Japanese man (and thee first Asian man) to do this.  He made history.  Kaijuvision is produced in Fort Wayne.  So, I decided there should be an article about this historical event.  It’s a story of local interest.

After all, there are two connections to the Indianapolis 500 in Godzilla movies.  In All Monsters Attack (1969), Ichiro’s bully wears an Indianapolis 500 shirt.  In the episode on that film, I said how that’s maybe a reference to the give-and-take relationship that the US and Japan have on some issues.  The second connection is in Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973).  Hiroshi drives a car that has an Indianapolis 500 sticker on the window.  See the original blog post about Takuma Sato here.

Similarly, sports figure Hideki Matsui is nicknamed Godzilla.  Matsui had his own cameo in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002).

It turns out there’s much more of a connection to Godzilla than previously known.  A visitor to Kaijuvision.com sent these pictures via a comment on the original Takuma Sato blog post:

Source: Rob McEwen

Source: Rob McEwen

That’s so cool!!

Ever since 1954, Godzilla has been an expression of the Japanese National Spirit, just like Sato’s achievement is.

So two years later, the connection between Godzilla and Takuma Sato’s win at the Indy 500 has come full circle!