January 25, 2021
Over 70% of people in Japan think that this summer’s Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics should be canceled or postponed again, a think tank survey showed Saturday Jan 24.
The survey by the Japan Press Research Institute showed that 37.9% of respondents said the Tokyo Games should be canceled while 34% said the events should be postponed again.
The proportion of respondents who said the events should take place as scheduled stood at 26.1%. The Tokyo Games were already postponed by one year from summer 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Of those who opposed holding the games this summer, 83.4% said the events would bring many people to Japan from around the world, leading to a further spread of the virus, while 64.3% said there is no prospect of the pandemic being contained.
Of those who favored holding the games as scheduled, 67.3% noted that athletes have been preparing for the events and 49.3% said people would be encouraged by athletes’ performances and the excitement brought by the games.
The poll showed that 44.8% said that if the games are canceled or postponed again, preparations made so far, including the construction of sporting venues, would end up being a waste of resources.
The poll was conducted between Oct. 30 and Nov. 17, collecting answers from some 3,000 people aged 18 or older.
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