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szdaily -> Sports -> 
Tokyo Games organizers get plea to cancel from medical body
    2021-05-20  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

THE International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Tokyo Olympic organizers start three days of virtual meetings yesterday and will run into some of the strongest medical-community opposition so far with the Games set to open in just over nine weeks.

The meetings are headed by IOC Vice President John Coates, who will attempt to again assure the Japanese population that the games will be “safe and secure.”

Much of Japan, including Tokyo and Osaka, is under a state of emergency, which forced IOC President Thomas Bach to cancel a trip to Japan this month. Bach was expected to address organizers during the virtual meetings.

Only about 1-2 percent of the Japanese population is fully vaccinated, and opposition to the Olympics is running at 60-80 percent in numerous polls.

In one of the strongest statements so far, the 6,000-member Tokyo Medical Practitioners’ Association called for the Olympics to be canceled in a letter sent last week to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, and Seiko Hashimoto, the head of the organizing committee.

The letter was made public this week on the group’s website.

“We believe the correct choice is to the cancel an event that has the possibility of increasing the numbers of infected people and deaths,” the letter said.

The Olympics are to open July 23. The Paralympics follow Aug. 24. They are a financial imperative for the IOC, which derives about 75 percent of its incomes from selling television rights and another 18 percent from sponsorship.

There is no indication the Games will be canceled, though opposition continues with small street protests and online petition drives.

Japan has had more than 11,500 deaths from COVID-19.

The Tokyo Medical Practitioners’ Association warned of a possible collapse of Japan’s medical system, which could come under more pressure with Tokyo’s hot and humid summer months approaching as the Olympics open.

(SD-Agencies)

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