COVID-wary Japan gingerly approaches Olympics starting line

Japanese public fears influx of 93,000 Olympic visitors could worsen the country’s ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

Tokyo, Japan – In front of the red-brick walls of Tokyo Station, a digital clock counts down the days to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Banners carrying the five Olympic rings hang from lamp posts above it, while shops in the area are stocked full of shirts, posters and keychains bearing the same insignia. Across the Japanese capital, the trappings of the Summer Games are impossible to ignore, but the excitement that usually comes from a sporting event of this scale appears largely absent. Barely a month remains until the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics on July 23. But the Japanese public remains resolutely opposed to the Games, amid fears that the influx of athletes, sport officials and journalists could worsen the continuing COVID-19 outbreak in Tokyo and other parts of the country.