Some 10,000 of the 80,000 volunteers scheduled for the Tokyo Olympics have thrown in the towel in recent months, organizers revealed with 50 days to go until its inauguration.
Tokyo-2020 CEO Toshiro Muto told local press on Wednesday night that roughly 10,000 volunteers resigned in recent months, mostly due to concerns about the coronavirus.
“I think there is no doubt that one of the reasons is concern about coronavirus infections,” he said.
Others have withdrawn for scheduling reasons after the Games were postponed for a year, or to protest sexist remarks by Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori, who was forced to resign in February and was replaced by Seiko Hashimoto.
Some volunteers could also be among the roughly 80% of Japanese who oppose holding the Games this year, according to national polls. Polls in Tokyo revealed a more even distribution (50-50) between supporters and opponents.
Muto assured that the least amount of volunteers would not affect the Games.
Seiko Hashimoto herself told a local sports newspaper that she was ruling out a further postponement and that the cancellation would only occur in catastrophic circumstances, if the majority of the delegations were prevented from going to Japan.
These Olympic Games were scheduled for 2020 but have been postponed for a year due to the pandemic. It is planned to be held from July 23 to August 8.
Organizers will reveal new details about the medal ceremonies on Thursday, apparently with the intention of sparking more excitement as polls show that most Japanese prefer to have them canceled or postponed again.
Due to a fourth wave of infections, Tokyo and nine other departments will remain in a state of health emergency until a month before the Games.
– “They will not be annulled” –
Foreign spectators were banned from attending the Games in March and a decision will be made on the presence of local audiences this month, once the state of emergency is lifted in Tokyo on June 20.
The number of foreign staff and participants in the Games has been cut in half, to about 78,000.
The organizers ensure that the Games will take place “safely”.
Hashimoto repeated it in an interview published Thursday, saying that an annulment was practically inconceivable. “If several countries in the world are going through very serious situations and the delegations of most countries cannot come, then we could not celebrate them,” he told the Nikkan Sports newspaper. “Unless such a situation arises, the Games will not be canceled.”
She has the feeling, she said, that public opinion is changing its mind as the vaccination campaign accelerates in Japan, a country that has recorded 13,000 deaths from coronavirus since the beginning of 2020. But only 2.9% of the population has received both doses of the vaccine.
The first Olympic team – female softball players from Australia – arrived in Japan on Tuesday.
But, a sign that difficulties persist, a member of a Ghana soccer team tested positive upon arrival in the country for a friendly match, according to the Japan Soccer Federation. (GG) (AFP)