Preparations for the big show in 2020 (tired of hearing that number yet?) are slowly but surely being ramped up, with the ground finally broken at the old National Stadium site last week. One of the more pertinent things to arrange before the actual games kick off is a full-scale army of volunteers, so to make sure they don't run into a one-year-plus delay like with the main stadium, the Tokyo metro government announced on December 6 that it is planning to start looking for volunteers from 2017 onwards. The early bird surely gets the worm.
This rush to recruitment isn't without reason, though – with the Rugby World Cup being held in 2019, part of the grand plan is to use that event as a test drive for the following summer, all in order to smooth out any kinks in the volunteering cable. Two different types of roles will be available: in the first case you'll be running around the stadium and other venues, while in the other you'll be helping out in the city itself, mainly at key transportation junctions – probably aiding lost tourists trying to find their way out of Shinjuku Station.
So far, proposed requirements for volunteers include being over 18 years of age by April 1 of 2020, either have Japanese nationality or be a resident of Japan, and being able to commit to at least ten days of shifts and participation in volunteer training sessions. And if you happen to speak a language other than Japanese (well, you're reading this...), even better.
As usual, how exactly you're supposed to apply hasn't been made public yet, but following updates on the Tokyo Metropolitan Volunteer website is your best bet. Let the games begin.