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17 May 2021 When there are less than 10 weeks to go to the Tokyo Olympics, about 60% of residents say they are against the organization of the Games, while the rise of Covid infections in the country continues, and the vaccination plan continues extremely slowly. This is what a Kyodo poll shows, according to which 59.7% of respondents believe that the event should be permanently canceled, and 25% instead are against any spectator presence. The outcome reflects the high skepticism of the local population, after the postponement of a year decided in March 2020, just when the country is in the middle of the fourth wave, with the proliferation of numerous variants of the virus.
Although the organizers have already decided to ban the entry of spectators from abroad, the survey shows that 88% of local residents are mainly concerned about the influx of athletes and sports staff following in the capital, and about the potential risks of spreading the virus. The opening ceremony of the Olympics is scheduled for July 23, while the start date of the Paralympics is scheduled for August 24. Currently in Tokyo, together with 9 other prefectures of the archipelago, a state of emergency is in force which will last until 31 May. In the same Kyodo survey, 85% of respondents found the government's immunization campaign too slow, and 71.5% said they were critical of managing the health emergency in general.To date, the vaccination campaign has affected just 3% of the population of 126 million inhabitants, well below the global average of 9%, according to research from the University of Oxford.
Japan has reported 684,790 coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, with 11,524 confirmed deaths.