Japan PM says Olympics will unite world in hope

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TOKYO, Jan 29, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga
vowed Friday to hold the Olympics as a symbol of unity and hope, despite
growing doubts over the virus-postponed event’s fate.

“Japan will hold the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this summer,” Suga
said at the annual World Economic Forum, held online as the pandemic
continues to wreak havoc worldwide.

“I’m determined to realise the Games that will bring hope and courage to
the world, as proof of mankind’s victory over the virus and as a symbol of
global unity.”

His strident tone echoed that of Tokyo Olympics organisers and the
International Olympic Committee, both of whom insisted this week that the
Games will go ahead safely.

But with many countries still paralysed by Covid-19 and large parts of
Japan — including Tokyo — under a state of emergency, concern is growing
over pushing ahead with the huge international event, due to start on July
23.

Tokyo’s first Olympic test event of 2021, an artistic swimming competition
scheduled for March, was postponed on Thursday for two months because of
travel restrictions.

In December, Tokyo 2020 chiefs unveiled a 53-page anti-virus rulebook that
they say will allow the Games to be held safely even without a vaccine.

But public support in Japan for holding the Games this year is low.

A poll conducted last weekend by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper showed only
11 percent of the 1,647 respondents said the Olympics should go ahead this
summer.

In the survey, 51 percent supported postponement and 35 percent said it
should be cancelled.