TOKYO (Reuters) – A member of the board of directors of the Japanese Olympic Committee on Friday criticized organizers of the Tokyo Olympics for ignoring public concerns that this major global sporting event will be held amid the pandemic, but has said it was too late to cancel it.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) seems to think it can override the wishes of the Japanese public, which polls show overwhelmingly want the Games to be canceled or postponed, Kaori Yamaguchi said in an opinion piece published by Japanese news agency Kyodo.
Already postponed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, a scaled-down version of the Games, without foreign spectators, is due to start on July 23, despite public fears that the event will drain medical resources and spread the coronavirus, as Japan battles a fourth wave of infections.
Kaori Yamaguchi, a former Olympic medalist in judo, accused the Japanese government, the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee and the IOC of “avoiding dialogue.”
“The IOC also seems to think that public opinion in Japan is not important,” she said.
A series of comments from IOC officials, including that of John Coates, IOC Vice President, that the Olympic Games would be held even in a state of emergency, as is currently the case in Tokyo and other parts of the world. other regions, aroused outrage in Japan.
The Japanese government also says the Games can be held safely, despite the slow rollout of vaccines and the growing number of severe coronavirus cases that are straining the medical system. The country has recorded nearly 750,000 cases and more than 13,000 deaths.
(Chang-Ran Kim, French version Camille Raynaud)
