Amid opposition, Japan PM says he has 'never put Olympics first'
10 May, 2021
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Monday (May 10) that he hasn't "put the Olympics first", on a single day an thoughts and opinions poll showed that practically 60 per cent of folks in Japan want the Olympics cancelled less than three months before they begin.
Japan has extended circumstances of emergency in Tokyo before end of May and is struggling to include a surge in COVID-19 cases, raising further questions about if the Games is going on. Its vaccination rate is the lowest among wealthy nations.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials, Tokyo planners and Suga himself have insisted that the Games will continue in "a safe and sound" way. Foreign spectators have already been barred and planners issued an elaborate playbook of rules last month targeted at preventing coronavirus infections.
But a public opinion survey, conducted from May 7 to May 9 by the Yomiuri Shimbun daily, showed that 59 % wanted the Games cancelled as opposed to 39 % who said they must be held. Postponement was not offered as an option.
Another poll conducted at the weekend by TBS News found that 65 per cent wanted the Games cancelled or postponed again, with 37 per cent voting to scrap the event altogether and 28 % calling for another delay. A lot more than 300,000 persons have signed a petition to cancel the Games in roughly five days since it was launched.
Asked in a parliamentary committee meeting if the Games will continue regardless if COVID-19 infections spike, Suga replied: "I've never put Olympics first".
"My priority has gone to protect the lives and health of japan population. We should first prevent the spread of the virus," he added.
He repeated that the IOC gets the final say on the fate of the Games and that the government's role is to do something to allow them to be held safely.
Advertisement
The TBS survey discovered that Suga's public approval rate was at 40 per cent, near to record lows marked earlier this year.
Top Olympic official John Coates said on Saturday that while Japanese sentiment about the Games "was a problem" he could foresee no scenario under that your sporting extravaganza wouldn't normally go ahead.
But on Sunday, Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka said that even though she's waited her expereince of living to be a part of the Olympics, the risks of holding the Tokyo Games ought to be carefully discussed.
The Games are set to open on Jul 23 and run until Aug 8.
Source:
TAG(s):