When we interviewed sponsor companies that were allowed to attend the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics on the 23rd, 37 of the 55 companies that responded said that company officials would not attend.

Twelve companies answered that they would attend, and only one of them was attended by the top management.

The opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics will be held without spectators due to the influence of the new coronavirus, and the Games Organizing Committee plans to attend about 950 people, including those involved in the Games and VIPs from each country.



The sponsor companies of the tournament were also allowed to attend the opening ceremony, and when NHK interviewed 78 companies from the 19th to the 21st of this month, 55 companies responded.

Of these, 37 companies, or 67%, answered that "company officials will not attend."

Asahi Breweries said that the reason for not attending was "based on the situation of the spread of infection and the decision to hold an unattended event at the Tokyo venue."


In addition, Tokyo Gas states, "To cooperate and support in accordance with the policy of the Organizing Committee to hold safe and secure competitions."


Other companies also cited it for reasons such as controlling the flow of people and preventing the spread of the new coronavirus.



On the other hand, 12 companies (21%) answered that they would attend, and 6 companies answered that it was undecided.

Regarding attendees, only one company answered that it was the top of the company, and two companies were in the executive class.

In addition, seven companies responded that they would dispatch field-level personnel to confirm the items provided and record operations, and two companies were undecided.



"Airweave," a bedding maker who answered that the president will attend, said, "I thought it was my duty to support the end, no matter how difficult the situation. I plan to attend as long as safety and security are guaranteed." I am commenting.



Regarding the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, the top executives of Keidanren, the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Keizai Doyukai are absent, and there are cases where attendance is postponed among VIPs from each country.

"Is it a bad image? Are you worried about flying fire?" Professor Tatsuo Sugimoto, Hosei University

Professor Tatsuo Sugimoto of the Faculty of Economics, Hosei University, who is a former Olympic athlete and specializes in sports economics, said that the sponsor companies of the tournament are absent from the opening ceremony one after another. Traditionally, it's highly effective as a promotion, and it's really rare to cancel it at global megasports events, including the Olympics. "


On top of that, "Usually, there are almost no negative factors due to a company sponsoring the Olympics. However, the opposition to this Olympics is so strong that when the sponsor company shows its presence, the bad image of the company also affects the company. You may be worried that it will fly. "