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Tokyo Olympics & Paralympics 2021 Discussion Thread

What is your take: should the Tokyo Summer Olympics and Paralympics be held in 2021 or not?

  • Yes, they should go ahead as scheduled (July 2021).

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • No, they should be cancelled for good.

    Votes: 10 83.3%

  • They should be held but scaled down.

    Votes: 2 16.7%
  • Total voters
    12

thomas

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The Tokyo Olympics were supposed to start next Friday. They are now scheduled to begin in July 2021. Here's an interesting piece by the NYT that sheds some light on the uncertainties of next year's event given the coronavirus situation in the US and other nations.



The Tokyo Olympics Will Open a Year From Now. Maybe. (Published 2020)

Japan has largely controlled the coronavirus. Large parts of the rest of the world, especially the United States, have not. A year before the rescheduled Games, that is still a major problem.
www.nytimes.com

The re-elected governor of Tokyo, Ms Koike, pledged a "120 per cent effort" to ensure the first-ever postponed Games can go ahead. Koike said the city was committed to holding the event as a "symbol of human triumph" over the virus, but admitted it would be downsized.

With one year to go, Tokyo 2020 confirms all venues and competition schedule for the Games in 2021 - Olympic News

The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee announced at today’s virtual IOC Session that all the venues intended for the Games in 2020 have been secured
www.olympic.org

Mr Mori, the president of Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, echoed these sentiments last week and posed a "Big if" question that nobody really wants to address right now: if the Games end up being scrapped, who will pay the damages stemming from the building of stadiums and selling of tickets?

Source: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13556891

Many health experts, such as Kentaro Iwata, a professor of infectious diseases at Kobe University, remain highly sceptical. As Covid-19 continues to spread, with more than 14 million reported cases and more than 600,000 deaths around the world, they say it's unlikely the Tokyo Olympics - and the Paralympics, which are slated to begin 24 Aug 2021 - can or will be held as scheduled: "I do not think (holding the) Olympic Games in 2021 is (a) realistic goal".

As COVID-19 pandemic rages on, experts say it's unlikely Tokyo Olympics can be held next summer

Experts say the notion of holding the Olympics as normal, with packed stadiums and grandeur, is unfathomable due to the trajectory of the pandemic.
www.usatoday.com

Another option under consideration is to scale down the games next year:


Source: Tokyo discussing scaled-down Olympics in 2021 to reduce costs

Meanwhile, only 23.9 per cent of Tokyoites want to hold the games next year. I have no doubts that this number will further decrease.

Only 23.9% of Japanese want Olympics next year: poll

Just one in four people in Japan want to see the coronavirus-delayed Tokyo Games held next year, with most backing either further delay or a cancellation, a new poll shows. Only 23.9 percent of respondents in the three-day nationwide poll published Sunday said they wanted to see the 2020 Games…
japantoday.com
 
We already know the answer to that. It will primarily be taxpayers.
 
It is already a failure, no point wasting anymore money.
Thanks China !
 
Meanwhile, some 80 per cent of the Japanese oppose the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. That's a new record.

Poll finds 80% favor canceling or postponing Tokyo Olympics

In the poll, 35.3% called for the cancellation of the Tokyo Games, while 44.8% said the games should be put off again.
www.japantimes.co.jp

With so much money burned and given the current state of the pandemic and the general public's mood, I cannot imagine how the government can possibly insist on allowing some ten-thousand athletes descend on the country, with or without vaccines. Time to show some backbone, Mr Suga, and scrap the games! Even if Mr Bach keeps roaring from Lausanne:

IOC's Thomas Bach says 'no plan B': Tokyo Olympics will be held

'We have, at this moment, no reason whatsoever to believe that the Olympic Games in Tokyo will not open on the 23rd of July,' the IOC chief says.
www.japantimes.co.jp

Cancel already!
 
I don't think it would be safe nor fair to hold them this year, but to cancel them is something else as I think Japan deserves to hold the olympics. Would this be possible:

Osaka mayor says Tokyo Games should be postponed to 2024 - The Mainichi

OSAKA -- Osaka Mayor and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) leader Ichiro Matsui expressed the view that it will be difficult to hold the To
mainichi.jp
 
I'm not opposed to holding the games, but it really depends on the vaccine rollout and its efficacy. I don't have confidence the vaccine will go as hoped, but I'm not a doctor or have any sort of inside knowledge.

That puts me in a wait-and-see position. If things look good in the spring, let's do it! And I write this as someone who doesn't watch the games at all. Usually just a clip montage of the opening ceremonies. If it goes as hoped, then the Olympics would be a hugely positive event for the world to experience after everything last year.
 
I am with Davey, let Tokyo have it in 2024
 
Holding the Games in 2024 sounds like a good solution but doesn't seem to be possible:


Japan and IOC deny that Olympics will be cancelled

Japan and the IOC stood firm on Friday on their commitment to host the Tokyo Olympics this year and denied a report of a possible cancellation, although the pledge looks unlikely to ease public concern about holding the event during a pandemic.
www.reuters.com

I am not categorically opposed to the Olympics but feel that the government should now focus on the pandemic and stop wasting their resources pursuing (political) illusions.

I am not a doctor either, but I doubt that Japan will reach herd immunity before summer.
 
The rescheduled Tokyo Games may have to be held behind closed doors if they are to go ahead in Japan this year, athletics chief Lord Coe has admitted.

The World Athletics president remained confident the Olympics and Paralympics would take place despite a Times report suggesting they would be cancelled.

"I would love to have fans, noisy and passionate," Coe told the BBC.

"But if the only way we're able to deliver it is behind closed doors, I think everybody is accepting of that."

Coe, who headed the London 2012 organising committee and is also an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, said, in the event of a cancellation, it was "not a realistic solution" to push back Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 in order for Tokyo to host the Olympics in three years' time.

Tokyo 2020 Games may have to be held behind closed doors, says Lord Coe

The rescheduled Tokyo 2020 may have to be held behind closed doors if they are to go ahead this year, athletics chief Lord Coe says.
www.bbc.com
 
After the Times of London published their article (based on anonymous sources), the government went into complete denial, insisting that the Games would be hosted at all costs.

Now, all athletes will need to be vaccinated, despite earlier reports that this was no prerequisite.

Article expired

News on Japan, Business News, Opinion, Sports, Entertainment and More
www.japantimes.co.jp

Also, as @Buntaro posted above, they consider to either limit the number of spectators or hold the events without spectators.

No ticket sales would result in an expected loss of 90 billion JPY (867 million USD).

Japan gov't weighs staging Tokyo Olympics without spectators

The Japanese government has started weighing the possibility of staging this summer's Tokyo Olympics without spectators to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, several officials said Friday.
english.kyodonews.net
 
@thomas, does that 90 B JPY include the expected losses to local businesses who would normally see an increase in business during the Olympics or is it just the loss of the ticket sales themselves?

I'm not arguing for having the Olympics, just curious what the number actually includes.

I actually think they should just cancel it. Even if it were limited to only Olympians and their support personal the extra international travel could result in an increase of COVID-19 cases. Even with vaccinations, we just don't know how effective they will be yet.
 
Probably it would be no worse than a robust Go To Travel campaign.
 
Petaris said:
Does that 90 B JPY include the expected losses to local businesses who would normally see an increase in business during the Olympics or is it just the loss of the ticket sales themselves?
Click to expand...

According to Kyodo News, those 90bn JPY are the expected ticket loss and would not cover the losses of other businesses.

Holding the Tokyo Games without spectators would deal a blow to the organizing committee, which expects to make revenue of 90 billion yen ($867 million) from ticket sales.
Click to expand...
 
Today, Takeshi Niinami, chief executive of beverage giant Suntory Holdings and economic advisor to Mr Suga, said that the following conditions must be met for the Olympics to proceed:
  1. Control the current spread of cases (reducing testing and closing izakaya at 8 p.m. should do the trick )
  2. People have to wear contact-tracing devices via smartphones.
  3. Vaccine rollout must begin in February as scheduled ( What about foreign athletes? )
  4. Experiment with other major events, such as professional baseball games (brilliant idea; we could also restart the Go to Travel campaign, experimentally)
Meanwhile, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis suggested that the Olympics could happen in Florida in 2021 if Japan dropped out.

Florida CFO wants 2021 Olympics in the Sunshine State if Japan cancels

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis is suggesting the Olympics could happen in Florida in 2021.
www.abcactionnews.com

For comparison: Florida Coronavirus Map and Case Count
 
Point 4 makes sense to me. Japanese football (JLeague) and baseball were excellent last year. They got to grips with the problem early, cancelling matches from late February while Abe and Koike were pretending everything was OK, then they got together and tried to solve the problems arising from the virus. Matches with a limited number of spectators and sensible measures in place started late summer, and I got to see FC Tokyo play a few matches. As far as I know, no clusters have been linked to large sports matches in Japan.
 
Breaking news: it's been officially decided that the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will be held without international visitors.

Tokyo 2020: No international fans at Olympics and Paralympics

No international fans will be permitted at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this summer because of the pandemic.
www.bbc.com

Sorry, only in German:

Tokio 2020: Japans Olympia-Komitee schließt ausländische Fans aus

Nun ist es offiziell: Das größte Sportereignis der Welt soll ohne Zuschauerinnen und Zuschauer aus dem Ausland stattfinden. Olympia und die Paralympics werden zu TV-Spielen, auch finanziell wiegt die Entscheidung schwer.
www.spiegel.de
 
I won't be attending any of the events, but if you're living in Japan, you don't look Japanese, and you're a bit of a media tart, now's your chance to get on Japanese TV. Japanese TV presenters covering the games will be absolutely desperate to interview any spectators who don't look Japanese to make the games more international!
 
How about a JREF delegation? Think about all that publicity...

I'd be keen on cheering the peloton in the bicycle race from Hashimoto to Lake Yamanaka. Not very interested in anything else, including the opening ceremony.
 
thomas said:
How about a JREF delegation? Think about all that publicity...

I'd be keen on cheering the peloton in the bicycle race from Hashimoto to Lake Yamanaka. Not very interested in anything else, including the opening ceremony.
Click to expand...
The opening ceremony is always interesting for sociological reasons, such as what the country decides to portray about itself to the rest of the world. Japan's could be particularly interesting because of the combination of a country that makes an enormous attempt to market its image and the completely tone deaf old fossils who seem to run everything.
 
Last edited:
You guys that are near Tokyo should go line the marathon route or something. Then go out for beer afterwards.
I was there during the Nagano Olympics and made zero effort to participate. And I still regret it to this day. (Ok well not really but even so had it been in Tokyo I'd probably have made some effort).
 
mdchachi said:
You guys that are near Tokyo should go line the marathon route or something. Then go out for beer afterwards.
Click to expand...
I believe the marathon is going to be held in Sapporo this time, mostly due to concerns about the heat.
The beer sure sounds good, though!
Touché. I felt that having Abe Shinzo dressed as Mario at the Rio Olympics closing ceremony was a perfect example of this—way to ruin one of Japan's most beloved cultural exports by associating it with a fusty old politician.
thomas said:
I'd be keen on cheering the peloton in the bicycle race from Hashimoto to Lake Yamanaka. Not very interested in anything else, including the opening ceremony.
Click to expand...
That sounds like it would be nice. But yeah, I'm feeling similarly kind of detached from it all.
I noticed that the torch relay on July 16 finishes off the day very close to us, so if we go to anything I suppose it may be that.
 
Those who ordered tickets for Olympic events from overseas will be fully reimbursed. Total amount: a staggering 90 billion JPY! Ouch.


 
If anyone is worried about celebrating Olympic Games in Tokyo, It is created a petition by Change.org platform to concern cancel the event. This is the link:

Firma la petición

Cancel Tokyo Olympic Games 2021 due Covid-19
www.change.org
 
Only 3 have signed, it would take a truly huge outpouring to delay or cancel the games at this point.

I see Mori is in the news again for another comment, oh well.
 
I assume people are just sick and tired to hear about the Olympic predicament. The petition against asking for action against Mori (and his first comment) triggered over 100,000 signatures in just 24 hours.
 
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