4 out of 5 Japanese Citizens Say the Tokyo Olympics Postponed by One Year Should Be Canceled or Postponed Again

Image source=Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] The Tokyo Summer Olympics, postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is scheduled to be held this July. However, four out of five Japanese citizens remain negative about holding the event as planned.

According to a public opinion survey released on the 10th by Japan's Kyodo News, 35.3% of respondents in a telephone survey chose to cancel the Tokyo Olympics, while 44.8% opted for another postponement. This means that 80.1% of the public opinion is against holding the Games this year. This figure is more than 17 percentage points higher than the 63% cancellation/postponement response rate in the NHK survey conducted at the end of last year.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee decided to postpone the Tokyo Olympics, originally scheduled for July last year, by one year about four months before the opening ceremony, considering the safety of athletes and supporters amid the spread of COVID-19. According to the rescheduled plan, the Games are set to take place from July 23 to August 8 this year. However, negative public opinion is spreading as Japan, including Tokyo, has recently reported around 6,000 to 7,000 new COVID-19 cases daily. Recently, news emerged that a new type of variant, different from those prevalent in the UK and South Africa, has been discovered in Japan.

The Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee stated that if the Olympics postponed by one year are not held in July this year, there will be no further postponement and the event will be canceled. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga expressed his intention to proceed with the Games, promising a safe and secure Tokyo Olympics in his New Year's address. This has even shaken the Cabinet's approval ratings. In the Kyodo News survey, the approval rating for the Suga Cabinet was 41.3%, down 9 percentage points from the previous month. The disapproval rating was 42.8%.

British Sky Sports forecasted that the spread of COVID-19 is making it difficult to hold the Olympics and that a decision on whether to hold the Games could be made by April.