News

April 14, 2021

Poll finds 72 per cent of Japanese public want Tokyo 2020 cancelled or postponed

InsInsideGames 13 April

A new survey has suggested Tokyo 2020 organisers are still struggling to win public support with more than 70 per cent of Japanese citizens wanting the Games to be cancelled or delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Olympics are scheduled to start in just over 100 days but COVID-19 continues to cause disruption across the world and cases remain on the rise in Japan.

A poll conducted by Japanese news agency Kyodo News revealed that 39.2 per cent of respondents want the Games to be cancelled and 32.8 per cent are in favour of another delay.

It was also found that 24.5 per cent of people who took part in the survey which was carried out from April 10 to 12 wanted the Olympics and Paralympics to go ahead.

The results of the poll come a day after tougher COVID-19 measures were imposed in Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa to halt a potential rise in cases.

Under the measures, restaurants and businesses in densely populated areas will be required to close by 8pm.

The capacity of large events will be limited to 5,000 people while businesses could receive fines should they ignore the instruction to have shorter opening hours.

According to Japan Today, Tokyo registered 510 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours - an increase of 204 from yesterday.

There were also an additional 3,452 infections and 37 deaths reported in Japan.

The recent Kyodo News poll found that 92.6 per cent of respondents felt anxious about the resurgence of cases.

The survey also revealed that about 60 per cent of people were dissatisfied with Japan’s vaccination rollout.

Japan began rolling out the COVID-19 vaccine to people aged 65 and over from April 12, roughly 36 million people.

The Japanese Government is reportedly considering priority access for athletes prior to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympics are due to open on July 23 and close on August 8, with the Paralympics set to follow between August 24 and September 5.

• ← Back