Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is under pressure to contain another surge in coronavirus infections or cancel the Tokyo Olympics.
“I’ve never put Olympics first,” Suga said Monday under questioning from opposition lawmakers, according to the Japan Times. “My priority has been to protect the lives and health of the Japanese population. We must first prevent the spread of the virus.”
Japan has struggled to distribute vaccines efficiently, having administered only a modest fraction of the 28 million Pfizer doses on hand, with another 35 million set to arrive over the next two months. Tokyo remains under a state of emergency due to the public health crisis, spurring fear of the games that is manifesting in turn as pressure on high-profile Japanese athletes.
“I think it is natural that many are calling for the games to be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic,” Rikako Ikee, a cancer survivor and a member of Japan’s national swimming team, wrote on Twitter. “I share your desire to emerge from this darkness as quickly as possible, but to put that burden on the shoulders of athletes is very tough. Even if you want me to oppose [the games], nothing that I say will change anything.”
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Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka also acknowledged the public opposition to the games, though she likewise avoided endorsing a cancellation.
“I think a lot of unexpected things have happened, and if it’s putting people at risk, and if it’s making people very uncomfortable, then it definitely should be a discussion, which I think it is as of right now,” Osaka told reporters Sunday at the Italian Open.
Osaka hinted at vaccinations as a solution to the controversy over whether Japan should risk an influx of international travelers. “At the end of the day, you can’t force anyone to be vaccinated,” she said. “If you’re going into the Olympics and whatever, make the host country happy.”
The games were supposed to take place in 2020, but the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic last spring forced a postponement. The risk of cancellation was dramatized this week by the postponement of International Olympics Committee chief Thomas Bach’s scheduled visit to Tokyo this month.
“We will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation in Japan and other relevant factors and will re-arrange his visit to Japan as soon as possible,” Tokyo 2020 said on Monday in a statement. “In the light of the extension of the state of emergency last week and various circumstances we are facing, the visit of IOC President Bach to Japan scheduled for 17 and 18 May has been postponed.”
An adviser to the prime minister derided the idea of canceling the games, writing on social media that the uptick in coronavirus cases is “a mere ripple” in comparison to other countries.
“So the Olympics should be canceled for this? lol lol,” economic adviser Yoichi Takahashi tweeted Sunday.
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Suga distanced himself from the comment on Monday, telling lawmakers he “will not comment on what Takahashi said in his personal capacity.”
