New Delhi: Even as the International Olympics Committee (IOC) and the Japan Government are forging ahead to kick off the Tokyo Olympics 2021 next month, the Japanese citizens are protesting against the world’s foremost sports festival, concerned as they are with the possible outbreak of the fourth wave of Covid-19.
Japan is set to host the mega-event from July 23 to August 8 in its capital city, Tokyo. The Olympics 2020 had been postponed because of the global pandemic that broke out last year.
In 1940, the Tokyo Olympics were clouded by the ongoing Second World War. Now, a lethal enemy, Covid-19, is threatening to stall it.
But the Japanese government as well as the IOC are facing widespread protests from the citizens and their organizations.
Reports said about 80 percent of the common people favor further postponement of the events which would attract around 80,000 sportspersons and officials from around the world.
The government, on its part, has accelerated the pace of vaccinations and is set to relax restrictions from June 20. Besides, the government will also allow only up to 10,000 spectators to each event to ensure social distancing at different venues.
But these preparations have not satisfied the people.
In an open letter to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, the Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association wrote: “We strongly request authorities to convince the International Olympic Committee that holding the Olympics is difficult, and obtain its decision to cancel the Games.”
Experts have stressed that Japan has one of the lowest recovery rates among the developed nations. Also, less than 5 percent of Japanese have so far received vaccines and only half of them have been fully vaccinated.
On the other hand, Nomura Research Institute estimated that Japan would suffer a loss of only USD 16.75 billion if it calls off the Games, according to Kyodo News. “Even if the Games are canceled, the economic loss will be much smaller than a state of emergency”, the Institute added.
Japan’s leading daily Asahi Shimbun had recently carried an editorial urging Prime Minister Suga to call off the Olympics citing increasing public opposition.
The Prime Minister stated that ‘as per the agreement with the host nation, the decision to continue or cancel the Olympics is unilateral and lies solely in the hands of the IOC’.
Despite protests, the IOC is adamant about holding the Games, with its Vice-President John Coates ‘eagerly looking forward’ to the event. Another veteran and the oldest IOC official, Dick Pound, insisted that they will go ahead with the Tokyo Olympics 2021.
The IOC believes that the protests will subside once the Olympics gain momentum. “In any case, an audience-less Olympics would not only result in a loss of USD 23.1 billion for Japan but also defeat the spirit of the games”, according to C. Frank Zarnowski, the American author and coach.
(Avya Mathur)
