No decline in Japan’s anti-Olympics sentiment

Seated inside Tokyo's new $1.4 billion National Stadium, Sebastian Coe again tried to reassure athletes and skeptical residents of Japan that the postponed Olympics will be safe when they open in just under 11 weeks.

An IOC member and two-time Olympic gold medalist, Coe heads track and field's world governing body World Athletics, which ran a test event on Sunday with 420 athletes - only nine of whom entered from outside Japan to compete. The Olympics and Paralympics will draw 15,000 athletes and tens of thousands of officials, judges, media and broadcasters. They will enter a country that has essentially had its borders sealed for more than a year.

"I recognize that nine athletes coming for a test event is very different from thousands of competitors coming to this city over the course of the summer months," Coe said.

He added that he was "very empathetic" with the concerns of a Japanese public that has shown in polls it overwhelmingly opposes holding the Olympics during a pandemic. Outside the stadium, the scene was different with about one hundred "anti-Olympic" protesters marching around the venue in central Tokyo chanting and holding posters that read: "Olympics Kill The Poor" and "Olympics - Just Stop It." "There is an infectious disease going on and so I think they should spend more money on medical care," said Takashi Sakamoto, who attended the rally. He said he works in warehouses and cleans buildings.

"Even before the pandemic, there were people who can't buy food and became homeless, and the pandemic has made things worse," he added.