"Threat to health": a newspaper partner of the Tokyo Olympics calls for their cancellation
The state of emergency is expected to be extended until June 20 in Tokyo and several departments in Japan, one month before the start of the Olympic Games.
AP - Eugene Hoshiko
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
The large Japanese daily
Asahi,
official partner of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, called on Wednesday May 26 for the event to be canceled.
A "
threat to health
", denounced the newspaper which draws eight million copies.
The Japanese archipelago is currently undergoing a fourth wave of coronavirus infections.
Two months before the start of the Olympics, the state of health emergency in force in Tokyo and in several departments of the archipelago should be extended until June 20.
Publicity
Read more
In an
editorial
,
Asahi Shimbun
urged Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to "
examine the situation calmly and objectively
" and "
take the decision to cancel the Olympic Games this summer
".
With less than two months of the Olympic Games scheduled for July 23 to August 8, postponed last year because of the pandemic, the Japanese population is
up against their outfit
, according to various polls.
Asahi believes that in the face of the uncertainty related to the health situation, the opening of these Games would amount to making "
a bet
" which is according to him "
not acceptable
".
The newspaper also recalls the "
confounding remarks
" of the vice-president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) John Coates last week, according to which the Olympics would take place even if the city of Tokyo were to remain under a state of emergency.
The
IOC's "
selfish nature
" has "come out
again
" in these statements, criticizes the editorial.
The United States recommends not to travel to Japan
Relatively spared by the pandemic compared to other countries, with some 12,000 officially registered deaths since early 2020, Japan has set up a
state of emergency
in 10 of its 47 departments in the face of the worsening health situation.
Currently scheduled until the end of May, the measure is expected to be extended this week until June 20, according to local media.
The state of health emergency in Japan essentially involves the closing of bars and restaurants earlier, at 8 p.m.
The United States recommended Monday, May 24 to its nationals not to travel to Japan because of the pandemic.
The White House, however, tempered this announcement Tuesday, its spokesperson affirming that the position of the United States "
had not changed
" and that they remained attached to the Olympics.
(With
AFP)
►
See also: The Tokyo Olympics increasingly criticized
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Japan
2020 Olympics
Coronavirus
Health and medicine
Sports
On the same subject
Covid-19: ten weeks before the Tokyo Olympics, the state of emergency expanded in Japan
The Tokyo Olympics increasingly criticized
International guest
Tokyo Olympics: "A majority of the population considers that the Olympics should be canceled"