I don’t know if a year’s delay wasn’t enough. In the midst of the pandemic crisis that has hit the world, public opinion is rising that the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which decided to postpone the event for the first time ever, should be canceled.
With the spread of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) unstoppable, media from around the world made pessimistic predictions toward the Tokyo Olympics, which are scheduled to be held in July. The New York Times of the United States said, “The prospect of hosting the Tokyo Olympics is getting darker day by day. As the spread of Corona 19 continues in Japan as well as in Europe and North and South America, officials from Tokyo and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) acknowledge that it may not be possible to hold a safe Olympics. I started doing it,” he reported on the 15th.
The British Guardian also said, “It has become unclear whether the Tokyo Olympics will be held in the remaining six months.” “It’s coming out” and threw an anxious gaze.
Immediately after the Corona 19 pandemic, whether to hold the Tokyo Olympics was a hot potato. The Japanese government, which has poured a huge amount of funds, is insisting on holding the summit. The tournament was postponed for a year after twists and turns, but the situation is not improving. The situation of Corona 19 in host country Japan was also worse than in March last year when the event was decided to postpone.
Currently, Japan has declared an emergency to prevent the spread of Corona 19. The target area has also been expanded from 4 existing areas (Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa) to 7 areas. In addition, it was decided to stop the measures to ease entry regulations for businessmen, which had been carried out in 11 countries and regions, including Korea and China, until the 7th of the following month, when the emergency ends. Special measures that allowed foreign athletes to enter the country with the aim of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games will also be suspended during this period.
The problem is that despite these measures, the trend of corona19 confirmed cases in Japan is not suppressed. In Japan, on the 16th alone, 7014 people were confirmed. The cumulative confirmed cases in Japan exceeded 320,000. Even after the declaration of an emergency, the number of confirmed cases does not decrease, and the period is likely to be extended. This is why pessimism about hosting the Olympics is spreading inside Japan.
In an interview with Reuters news agency on the 14th, Taro Kono said in an interview with Reuters, “At this point, we need to do our best to prepare for the competition. This is the first Japanese minister to mention the possibility of canceling the Olympics. His words also caused great ripples in Japan.
The New York Times and Bloomberg News also suggested the pessimistic possibility that “the IOC may cancel the Olympics for the first time after World War II.” The New York Times said, “Over the past few weeks, Japan and IOC officials have argued that the Olympics have been held and that they cannot be postponed anymore. However, according to a survey conducted by Japan’s NHK this month, about 80% of respondents either reenact the Olympics or It was found that they thought they should cancel,” he added. “In the October survey, responses to re-postponement or cancellation were less than half of the respondents, but in December it increased to 71%.”
Bloomberg said, “Even though each country is vaccinated, Corona 19 is still raging, and as the Japanese government’s declaration of emergency shows, infections in Japan still show a high trend.” It is negative, so it will be difficult to receive (public opinion) support.”
The Japanese government and the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee are still insisting on hosting the summit, saying, “There are no two delays.” However, even in the Japanese media, the atmosphere of’the recent situation is unstable’ is prevalent. Sports Hochi said on the 17th, “It is going similarly to the time when the Tokyo Olympics postponement was decided a year ago.” Is not fast. Some athletes refuse to inoculate. It is difficult to change the situation only with the slogan’Olympic is a light of hope’,” he worried.
Reporter Kim Hee-sun [email protected]