An on-line petition calling for the Tokyo Olympics to be cancelled has garnered nearly 200,000 signatures in the previous few days, as public considerations mount over holding the Games in a pandemic.
With lower than three months to go earlier than the beginning of the summer season Olympics, already postponed for a 12 months because of the coronavirus, questions nonetheless stay over how Tokyo can maintain the worldwide occasion and hold volunteers, athletes, officers and the Japanese public secure from COVID-19.
In two days since its launch, a web based marketing campaign referred to as “Stop Tokyo Olympics” has gathered more than 187,000 signatures, nearing its 200,000 goal and underscoring public concerns over holding the massive sporting event in Japan’s capital.
Battling a fourth wave of the pandemic and struggling with a sluggish vaccination campaign, the Japanese government is seeking to extend states of emergency in Tokyo and three other areas until the end of May, the economy minister said on Friday.
Opinion polls in Japan have found a majority of the public is opposed to the Games, which are due to open on July 23.
“We strongly call for the prevention of spread of coronavirus and protection of lives and livelihood by using available resources to stop the Olympics,” Kenji Utsunomiya, the net petition organizer, wrote on his web site. Utsunomiya is a lawyer who has run a number of occasions for Tokyo governor.
But, organizers have repeatedly stated the Games will go forward, unveiling detailed Covid-19 protocols for athletes and officers.
Pfizer Inc and its German accomplice BioNTech SE stated on Thursday they’d agreed to donate their vaccine to assist inoculate these taking part in the Games.
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