Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper, an official Tokyo Olympics sponsor, called for the Games to be cancelled, in the latest sign of opposition less than two months before the opening ceremony. The call comes with public opinion in Japan firmly against holding the Games this summer, and after prominent business leaders voiced their concern in recent weeks. Organisers insist, however, that the Games are on, saying an extensive rulebook will keep athletes and the Japanese public safe. The Asahi daily’s editorial urged Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to “make a calm, objective assessment of the situation and make the decision to cancel Olympics”.
The paper said it “cannot accept the gamble” of holding the event, despite organisers’ assurances it will be safe. It also accused International Olympic Committee leaders, including vice president John Coates, of being “self-righteous” and “clearly out of step” with the Japanese public. When asked last week if the Games could be held even during a virus state of emergency, Coates said “the answer is absolutely yes”. “Saying ‘yes’ without demonstrating any clear grounds for it once again drove home the self-righteous image of the IOC,” the editorial said.
Cancelling Oly will cost Japan $17 bn
A Tokyo-based research institute has estimated that cancelling the Olympics and Paralympics will cost Japan around 1.81 trillion yen ($17 billion). As per a report in Kyodo News, the Nomura Research Institute has warned of even a bigger economic loss if a fresh state of emergency is declared. “Even if the games are cancelled, the economic loss will be smaller than (the damage done by) a state of emergency,” Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at the Nomura Research Institute, said.
Absurd to stage Games
A professor of public health and adviser to the New Zealand government said there was no justification for holding the Tokyo Olympics during a pandemic, and to go ahead would be ‘absurd’ and cost lives. Otago University professor Michael Baker, who specialises in epidemiology, said: “If you think of the two key features of the Olympics, they involve a huge amount of international travel and mass gatherings, and they’re two things entirely incompatible with the pandemic."
