[imagesource: YouTube / usamica]

On July 23, the Tokyo Olympics will begin.

Usually, in the lead-up to the Summer Games, all the talk is about which athletes are likely to grab gold, and which sports are debuting, but this year, things are very different.

Those critical of Tokyo hosting the games, in the midst of a global pandemic, have been very outspoken, and a recent poll showed a full 83% of the Japanese public support the Olympics being cancelled.

When you consider the staggering cost of cancelling this late in the game (Japanese organisers alone could incur costs of around $16 billion if they pulled the plug), it’s perhaps easier to understand why the will of the people is being ignored.

That won’t prevent them from making their voices heard, or firing their water pistols, reports VICE:

A 53-year-old woman in Japan was arrested on Sunday for shooting a water gun at the Olympic torch during a relay, as she protested the decision to hold the Tokyo Games amid the pandemic.

…the woman is heard calling for the torch to be put out and shouting “end to the Olympics” while she shoots water toward the flame. She was stopped by a steward shortly after.

I have to admire her actions, because she probably knew it wouldn’t end well:

According to a deputy police chief in the city of Mito, she was arrested for “deliberately aiming at the runner and interfering with the relay”.

As of July 4, just 14% of Japan’s population had been fully vaccinated, and Tokyo is starting to see a noticeable rise in new COVID-19 cases.

The presence of fans is now being reconsidered by organisers, and there is pressure on the Japanese government to hold events behind closed doors.

The Financial Times below:

After bottoming out at fewer than 400 cases a day in mid-June, the number of new diagnoses has climbed to almost 600 a day, raising fears of a full-blown surge when the games are held…

The organisers of Tokyo 2020 said they have delayed a ticket lottery until Saturday as the debate on spectators comes to a head. Japan decided just two weeks ago to let some fans attend…

Many Olympic events have been scheduled for the evening to avoid the worst heat of the Japanese summer, but it will be hard to justify stadiums full of spectators if all of the nearby restaurants have been asked to close.

The Japanese government admits that it has a tough decision to make, and it’s one that must be made soon.

There have already been two COVID-19 cases inside the Olympic village, via workers, and a coach and athlete from Uganda, as well as a Serbian athlete, tested positive upon arrival in Tokyo.

[sources:vice&ft]