Safety all-clear for Village

TOKYO’S Olympic Village was hit by a fourth Covid-19 case yesterday and major sponsor Toyota said it would not run any Games-related TV ads as the event struggled for support just days before the opening ceremony.

A Czech beach volleyball player became the fourth case and the third infected athlete in the athletes’ village, where thousands of competitors are living in a ‘biobubble’.

Elsewhere, a teenage female gymnast became the first American athlete to test positive at the Games, with a teammate also isolating as a result. Neither was named.

The delayed 2020 Games will officially get under way on Friday in a near-empty Olympic Stadium, with Tokyo under a Covid-19 state of emergency after a spike in cases.

The latest Asahi Shimbun newspaper poll found a majority of respondents, 55%, were against holding the Games, with 33% in favour.

It has not been a smooth final build-up for the Games, which were postponed last year, but officials will hope the tide of public opinion turns when the sports programme starts.

In a sign of the current sentiment Toyota, the world’s biggest automaker, said it would not run Olympics-related TV ads, and its executives would not be present at the opening ceremony.

“Toyota officials will not attend the opening ceremony, and the chief reason behind it is there will be no spectators,” Toyota spokesperson Shiori Hashimoto said.

Fewer than 1 000 Olympic officials and VIPs will be allowed to watch the opening ceremony on Friday, according to Japanese media.