In the end, the Japanese authorities had learned.
At the closing ceremony, they blocked the entrances to the Olympic Stadium in the middle of Tokyo better than at the opening ceremony.
But they could not prevent hundreds of Japanese, fans and demonstrators from crowding around the stadium without social distance.
Many Japanese wanted to celebrate the games, but they weren't allowed - because of Covid-19.
In the midst of the pandemic, the Games are still a success for Japan. This applies from a sporting point of view: with 27 gold medals, the country has not only almost reached the pre-Corona target of 30 gold medals, but has also broken the previous records of Tokyo in 1964 and Athens in 2004. Japan won in the traditional national sport of judo as well as in fashionable skateboarding. This is a beautiful sign of the diversity of the country, which from the outside is often and not completely wrongly perceived as so homogeneous.
The games continue to be a success for Japan because the country organized the games under the most difficult conditions of the pandemic without a major Covid-19 outbreak among the athletes and other participants - effectively, efficiently and with a friendly smile behind the masks.
Japan demonstrated its outstanding hospitality to tens of thousands of athletes, officials and journalists.
Games bring women forward
The country, which has not allowed any tourists into the country since spring 2020, is thus making sure of itself. The fact that the spectators had to stay outside because of Covid-19, however, robbed the games of any chance that the costs could even be recouped. At more than 20 billion euros, depending on the bill, the games in Tokyo are already among the most expensive in history, if not the most expensive.
Last but not least, the Games are a success for Japan because they brought women forward in conservative society. This is less due to the desperate attempts in the past few months to give the games an even friendlier look by imposing gender equality in the organizing committee. A clear signal, however, is that Japan's women athletes won more gold than men. 30 of the 57 medals for Japan were achieved in all-women competitions. That will inspire young Japanese women more than quota regulations in the administration of the games.
The open question is whether the positive aspects will determine the image of the games in Japan?
The reasons for the rapid cost increases have not been clarified, nor have the allegations of corruption surrounding Tokyo's application.
Organizing Committee President Seiko Hashimoto is having a hard time showing a clear positive legacy of the Games for Japan.
The Japanese have limited joy at the Games.
The rapidly increasing numbers of infections in Tokyo and Japan are darkening the minds.
The majority of this infection development had already started long before the Games, including in the vaccination campaign that was delayed by the government, and is not a result of the Olympic Games.
But what matters is public perception. In the contest for public opinion, the IOC, the organizers and the Japanese government are still a long way from winning. They will probably never win because the extent of the influence of the games on the development of infections in Japan can never be definitively determined. This is already affecting the prospects for the Paralympics, which are due to begin in Tokyo in two and a half weeks.