The Asahi Shimbun is right – I think.
Prime Minister Suga, please call off the Olympics this summer
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It is simply beyond reason to hold the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this summer. The central government, the Tokyo metropolitan government and Olympic officials are forging ahead relentlessly, refusing to address the public’s perfectly legitimate questions and concerns. Naturally, people’s distrust and apprehension are growing.
We demand that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga evaluate the situation calmly and objectively, and decide against holding the Olympics and Paralympics this summer. ……
………. A truly astounding remark was made last week by John Coates, vice president of the International Olympic Committee. During a news conference, Coates stated his view that the Games can be held under a state of emergency. But the issue was not just about staging the event without incident. Coates’ thinking was clearly at odds with popular sentiment in Japan, and his attitude of saying “yes” to the Games without presenting any supporting evidence served only to remind us anew of the IOC’s self-righteousness. …….
The organizers must understand that gambling is not an option.
Many citizens share this awareness, and an Asahi Shimbun survey this month found only 14 percent of respondents in favor of going ahead with the Olympics this summer. The number also suggests the public’s deepening skepticism about the merits of hosting the Olympics. …….
The pandemic has prevented some athletes from competing in qualifiers. A huge gap exists between countries where progress has been made in mass inoculations and those where it hasn’t, obviously affecting athletes’ training and performances. For the Tokyo Olympics, athletes’ movements in the Olympic Village will be restricted, rendering it difficult for them to mix with local citizens as was hoped for by the local governments that volunteered to host pre-Olympic training camps.
Clearly, parts of the Olympic Charter have become a dead letter.
What meaning is there in holding the Olympics when people’s activities are being restricted and their daily lives have become difficult?
2020 has gone. Olympics 2021 is already unnatural. Some participants have prepared, some have not. Some cannot.
Much as I would like the Olympics sequence not to be disrupted, it makes no sense to have a shielded and truncated event which is so far from the spirit of what the Olympics ought to be.
Cancel it and move on to 2024.
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