Recently, the Japanese authorities have faced the dilemma of whether they should cancel the Olympic Games or not. Specialists are worried that the fourth wave of the pandemic can force Japan to call off the event. However, the head of the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympics said that the Games would still be held despite the resurgence of the coronavirus cases. The government has already imposed restrictive measures in 10 prefectures. Some of the Japanese politicians are calling for the Games to be postponed or cancelled. For your reference, in summer 2021, Tokyo is hosting the Summer Olympic Games. Yet, the pandemic made its changes to the plan, and the fourth coronavirus wave gave rise to anti-Olympic sentiment in Japan. Notably, Japanese citizens support the idea of postponing or cancelling the event. It should be mentioned that less than 100 days are left before the Games start in July. The representatives of the Olympic organizing committee confirm that they are committed to holding the event. "We're not thinking of cancelling the Olympics," head of the committee Seiko Hashimoto said. "We are putting our utmost efforts to prepare coronavirus countermeasures so we can hold the Games in the current conditions,” she added. The attitude towards the Olympics became negative due to the comments made by Toshihiro Nikai, the secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. In his interview with Japan's TBS TV, Nikai said that if there was a surge in infections due to the Olympics, they had to be cancelled. His words provoked an immediate response in the country and abroad. Later, Toshihiro Nikai had to tone down his rhetoric saying that Japan needs to act according to circumstances and that the Olympic and Paralympic Games should not be held at any cost. Japan’s healthcare experts are among those who advocate for cancelling the event. They point out that the country is struggling with the fourth Covid-19 wave, and the number of new infections has approached the peak levels of January 2020. Meanwhile, only 1% of the population has been vaccinated. Kyoto University professor Hiroshi Nishiura, an advisor to the government's pandemic response, urged the officials to postpone the Olympics until next year. According to the Kyodo News poll, less than a quarter of respondents think that the Summer Olympics should start on July 23, 2021. 39.2% of respondents want the Games to be cancelled, while 32.8% think they should be delayed.
