More than 80 percent of Japanese people want to postpone or completely cancel the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, postponed to the summer of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This became known from a survey conducted by the Kyodo agency.
In particular, 35.3 percent of respondents called for the cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics. Another 44.8 percent said games should be postponed again. It is clarified that the desire of citizens to abandon the Olympics is caused by the increase in the incidence of COVID-19.
According to the latest data, the number of cases of coronavirus infection in Japan has exceeded 290 thousand. 3855 people died from complications caused by the disease.
In September, the Japanese Minister of Olympic and Paralympic Affairs Seiko Hashimoto called for the Summer Games in Tokyo at any cost. Hashimoto stressed that both athletes and organizers made significant efforts to prepare for the Olympics.
The fact that the 2020 Summer Olympics has been postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic became known on March 24. The director of the organizing committee of the Games, Haruyuki Takahashi, admitted the possibility of re-postponing the Olympic Games. At the same time, he stressed that it is impossible to completely cancel the Games, as this will deal a huge blow to the economy of Japan and the world.