While the Covid-19 epidemic continues to worsen in Japan, where the authorities are preparing to extend the state of emergency already in place over part of the country, anti-Olympic Games activists (JO) submitted on Friday May 14 a petition calling for the cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics.
More than 353,000 people have signed an online petition titled “Cancel the Tokyo Olympics to protect our lives”, launched in early May by Kenji Utsunomiya, lawyer and former candidate for governor of Tokyo. The particularly fast speed with which signatures were collected on the Change.org platform in Japan “Reflects the opinion of the public”, polls carried out since last year showing that 60 to 70% of the population is opposed to holding the Games this summer, he told reporters.
“This time, the question is what we prioritize: life or a ceremony and an event called the Olympics”, Mr. Utsunomiya said. With the petition, he called on Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike to urge the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to cancel the Games.
“The IOC has the right to make the decision to cancel the Games or not, but Tokyo, as the host city, should urge the IOC to cancel the Games. “
These activists have sent their petition by email to the IOC and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and will then send postal letters to international organizations, while planning to submit the same text to the Japanese government and the Tokyo Games organizing committee.
Support from major Japanese athletes
The move comes as Japan is expected to extend the state of emergency linked to the coronavirus, currently in place in six departments including Tokyo, to three other departments before the end of the day, according to government sources.
The number of Covid-19 cases continues to increase in the country, while the vaccination campaign is progressing only very slowly. Established for the third time in the country in just over a year, the Japanese state of emergency provides for less severe restrictions than the strict containments implemented elsewhere in the world.
It consists above all in restricting the activity of certain physical businesses, in particular imposing the temporary closure of bars and restaurants serving alcohol, under penalty of a fine. Some department stores and cinemas have also been closed. Another range of measures, lower than the state of emergency, will also be extended, affecting ten other departments out of the 47 in the country.
In recent days, several high-ranking Japanese sportsmen, including golfer Hideki Matsuyama and tennis player Naomi Osaka, have expressed reservations about the viability of the Olympics in the midst of the epidemic. Japan has been relatively spared the pandemic overall, with just over 11,000 officially recorded deaths since early 2020, but medical experts warn the hospital system is under great pressure.