The short answer: yes, the Tokyo Olympics are currently still happening, as organizers and Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga have recently and repeatedly affirmed, according to The Guardian.
The long answer: yes, but uncertainty persists. Just this week, Japan’s extended state of emergency due to ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks, the International Olympic Committee president canceling his visit to Japan, and lack of support among the Japanese public have reopened the discussion.
Spike in COVID-19 outbreaks
Following the Japanese “Golden Week” of holidays in late April to early May, Japan saw a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases. With less than three months till the Games, the Japanese government announced a state of emergency in Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo and Tokyo, the Olympic host city. Set to end Tuesday, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga extended the state of emergency until May 31 and added two more cities, Aichi and Fukuoka, USA Today reports.
Due to the state of emergency, the IOC president, Thomas Bach, had to cancel his planned trip to Japan. The statement came Monday, saying a visit would occur “as soon as possible,” The Associated Press reported.
- Originally visiting May 17, Bach had planned to meet the torch relay in Hiroshima then continue on to Tokyo.
- The torch relay has now been pulled off of public streets — the sixth rerouting — to discourage public gathering, according to ABC News.
As of yesterday, Japan has recorded over 600,000 cases and 10,500 deaths, the highest numbers in East Asia, according to The Guardian. With a national vaccination rate of less than 2% and new, more contagious variants spreading, the country’s health care system has become overtaxed and understaffed.
One hospital in western Tokyo hung a banner outside saying, “Give us a break! The Olympics are impossible!”
Lack of support from the Japanese public
Amid rising health concerns, a weekend poll by Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun found that 59% of Japanese people want the games canceled or postponed — options the IOC previously ruled out, according to The Guardian.
Of those who supported the games, 23% want them without spectators. Currently, foreign spectators have been banned from attending. However, no decision has been made regarding domestic spectators.
This most recent poll reflects ongoing opposition to the Olympics among the Japanese public found in earlier surveys. An online petition calling for the cancellation of the games has already gained over 300,000 signatures in just three days.
Let the Games begin?
After being postponed last year, the Tokyo Summer Olympics may begin on July 23. The complications of the current situation have only reopened the debate over whether or not the games should still happen.