The hot summers in Tokyo have meant that the IOK wants to move the marathon and golf competitions to the cooler Sapporo, something the local politicians have protested against.

It may also be that the golf competitions are moved. Shigefumi Matsuzawa, who sits in the Japanese upper house, has written a letter to IOC Chairman Thomas Bach asking for the golf competition to be moved from the proposed Saitama Prefecture (5 km northwest of Tokyo) where the average temperature during the Olympic period is closer to 32 degrees .

"In 2017, a research team from Tokyo Metropolitan University wrote a report where it turned out that Kawagoe City in Saitama Prefecture, where the golf course is located, is the hottest site in all of Japan. The period between July and early August is the hottest period of the Japanese summer, so it is no exaggeration if you say that it would be extremely irresponsible to hold a sports competition outdoors during Japan's hottest region, ”he writes in the letter, which Reuters noted.

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Why is it dangerous to run in the heat?

"Death cannot be ruled out"

Matsuzawa estimates in the letter (based on previous figures) that up to 1,250 people may be affected by heat stroke during the eight days to decide the golf competitions.

"Ambulances and hospitals will not be able to take care of all patients who collapse, and the risk of death cannot be ruled out," he writes in the letter.

Matsuzawa recommends that the races instead be moved to Wakasu Golf Links, located in the Gulf of Tokyo, where temperatures during the Olympic period are around four degrees cooler.