Tokyo: The Tokyo Olympics have faced a historic postponement, an unprecedented ban on foreign fans and relentless domestic protests, but a month later, the finish line is finally in sight. The journey to Tokyo 2020 includes a long list of complications that sometimes threaten to make it the first modern Olympics to be canceled in peacetime. Now, there are only four weeks left for the opening ceremony on July 23, and when the mood is far from cheery, the organizers may have reason to celebrate.
The first Olympic teams are already in Japan, along with key officials and some foreign media. And polls show that long-standing public opposition to the Games may weaken as D-Day approaches. “We are in the full delivery phase,” Thomas Bach, the head of the International Olympic Committee, said on Monday. “Athletes are starting to arrive in Tokyo, ready to make their Olympic dreams come true.”
It has been an uphill battle since the unprecedented decision to postpone the Games in March 2020, as the scale of the pandemic began to emerge. Back then, it was expected that the pandemic might be over before the opening ceremony arrived. But a global coronavirus boom and the rise of more infectious forms have fueled those dreams and fueled growing protests in Japan.
no cheers, high-fives
Officials grappled with delayed qualifiers and testing incidents and launched a massive effort to draft virus rules that they say will keep the event safe. In March he announced that the Games would bar foreign spectators first, a decision which Tokyo 2020 chief and former Olympian Seiko Hashimoto called “inevitable”.
On Monday, organizers set a maximum of 10,000 domestic fans per venue, but warned that events could go on behind closed doors if infections escalate. Even with few spectators in the stands, there is no doubt that this year’s Games will be a copy of the Olympic past. Cheer will be banned, and athletes cannot hug or high-five. They must wear masks except when eating, sleeping or competing, and can only move between the Olympic Village and their venues. For breaking the rules, they face warnings, fines or even expulsion from the Games.
obstacle ahead
The Tokyo Olympics suffered setbacks until 2015, when improvements to the main stadium were sent back to the drawing board because it was too costly. In 2019, the head of Japan’s Olympic Committee dropped a French investigation investigating $2.3 million in payments made before and after Tokyo’s nomination. He denied any wrongdoing.
And in February, Tokyo 2020 chief Yoshiro Mori resigned after an uproar over his sexist remarks that women talk too much in meetings. At the end of the Games, the IOC says that more than 80 percent of the village’s people will be vaccinated, but competitors will still be tested daily. In a taste of the challenges ahead, a coach of Uganda’s Olympic team tested positive on arrival in Japan on Saturday, while the delegation was vaccinated and tested negative prior to the trip. A local official said that yesterday, the other eight members of the team were kept in isolation till July 3.
His office said yesterday that relentless preparations may have taken its toll on Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who will take the rest of the week to recover from exhaustion. Olympic delays and virus protections have added at least 294 billion yen ($2.6 billion) to an already massive 1.64 trillion yen ($14.9 billion) budget, making Tokyo one of the most expensive Summer Games ever. can make.
But despite the coronavirus and heavy spending, there are signs that public protests are softening, with recent polls showing 50 percent or more in favor of canceling the games. Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who is facing his first election right after the Games, is perhaps hoping for a breakthrough that could boost his political career.
His government has faced pressure over the coronavirus response, although Japan has seen a smaller outbreak than many countries, with nearly 14,500 deaths despite escaping harsh lockdowns. The rollout of the vaccine in the country began slowly, although the pace is now accelerating, with about seven per cent of the population fully inoculated. – AFP
