JAPAN’S MEDICAL EXPERTS SAY IT’S UNSAFE TO HOLD OLYMPICS, BUT GAMES ‘ON TRACK’

TOKYO: The Tokyo Olympics open in under four months, and the torch relay has begun with 10,000 runners. Organisers say they are mitigating the risks, but some medical experts aren’t convinced. “It is best to not hold the Olympics given the risks,” Dr. Norio Sugaya, an infectious diseases expert at Keiyu Hospital in Yokohama, said. “The risks are high in Japan. Japan is dangerous, not a safe place at all.”

Sugaya believes vaccinating 50-70% of the public should be “a prerequisite” to hold the Olympics, a highly unlikely scenario given the slow vaccine rollout in Japan. Fewer than 1% of the population has been vaccinated so far, and all are medical professionals. Most of the general public is not expected to be vaccinated by the time the Olympics open July 23. The government and local organisers have said vaccination is not a prerequisite, although IOC is encouraging the 15,400 athletes to be vaccinated when they enter Japan.

The number of Covid-related deaths in Japan is about 9,000. Hospital systems are stretched, especially in Tokyo. Japan never pushed PCR testing, meaning few mechanisms are in place to prevent infection clusters. Despite warnings, the government and organisers are determined to go ahead. The chief driver is IOC, which derives almost 75% of its income from broadcast rights and needs to get the games on television.

Japanese news agency Kyodo has reported, citing unidentified sources, that 90,000 people are expected to enter Japan from abroad. About 30,000 of those are athletes, coaches, staff and officials. That leaves 60,000, and Kyodo said the plan is to cut that to about 30,000, many of whom would be news media.

Public opinion surveys show most Japanese want the Tokyo Games cancelled or postponed again. Taro Yamamoto, a former lawmaker, said Japan is not prepared to deal with an influx of travellers from abroad. “To keep insisting the Games will go on is just madness.”