Tokyo Olympics: Emperor Naruhito fears rise in Covid-19

The sovereign's concerns are echo those of part of the population. Hostility to hosting the games is growing on the web. Yesterday in the capital registered a third of the cases of the whole country. Home athletes doubt that competitions can be played safely.

Tokyo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Emperor Naruhito fears that hosting the Olympics in the Japanese capital could favor an increase in infections from Covid-19, stated the head of the imperial house communications, Yasuhiko Nishimura, during a press conference today.

The sovereign's concerns echo those of part of the population. Yesterday a hundred demonstrators protested in front of the Tokyo metropolitan government headquarters, demanding the cancellation of the Olympic event due to the pandemic: a small number compared to the protests circulating on the web. A study published today by Asahi Shimbun found 97,000 tweets and retweets with hashtags opposing the Olympics on Twitter. The analysis takes into account data collected between January 1st and June 23rd.

The games were supposed to be held last summer, but have been postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic; they will open on 23 July, to close on 8 August; the Paralympics will instead take place from 24 August to 5 September.

Many in Japan fear that the sporting event poses a health threat. Tokyo yesterday recorded 619 cases of contagion, about a third of those nationwide (1,800). The average recorded in the capital in the last week was 423 infections. The metropolis has so far had 170 thousand infections and 2,200 deaths.

On June 21, the central government eased health restrictions in Tokyo and eight other prefectures; since June 1, the health authorities have started vaccinating Japanese athletes. However, some of them doubt that the competitions can be conducted safely. Local tennis star Kei Nishikori told Kyodo News that he is not 100% optimistic and wants to see what the situation will be like around the opening.

• covid-19
• japan
• tokyo
• olympics
• games
• naruhito
• pandemic
• virus
• coronavirus
• lockdown
• vaccinations
• sport