Pandemic causing uncertainty, unease for Tokyo Olympic host towns

"Our health care system is fragile. Even though residents will not come into contact with athletes, there is still a possibility that officials can contract the virus," Nakamura said.

More likely the officials will be giving the virus to the athletes.After all, the athletes are not those going drinking and eating steak dinners.

In Japan, the officials are a much different animal...

However, the town does not have a hospital that can treat coronavirus patients.

"Our health care system is fragile. Even though residents will not come into contact with athletes, there is still a possibility that officials can contract the virus," Nakamura said.

What are cost that Japan willing to take for Olympic? Costing rural area too?

It's a bummer for these towns that have offered to be hosts which is a great opportunity for cultural exchange but this virus has turned this into another story altogether.

They really should've just shifted this mega event to 2024 when everybody, athletes and spectators alike, could train, relax and really enjoy the Olympics.

Tokyo, Japan needs uncertainty, even in Osaka is anxious about Olympic travels, and Osaka is really feeling it economically.

Drop the games asap, and give people some certainty. It was never a good idea even before covid, with covid, it's utterly dumb.

Japan and the IOC need to cancel the 2021 Olympics. And designate the 2024 Tokyo Olympics. Just shift the entire schedule down 4 years for everybody. It would probably be the first Covid-free global celebration of humanity's victory over the pandemic. This was the obvious course of action this Spring but everybody's greed clouded their thinking.

Vaccinate for 2022. That should fix it.

Tokyo 2020 would have been possible, even a smaller version, considering the leading time there was to prepare for the 2021 version of it.

Should the government prioritise Implementing measures and seriously controlling this pandemic first, then focusing on making the Olympics happen would be a much easier task.

Now, without any confidence due to virus spreading out of control in Japan, without the government taking any measures to stop it...

I am afraid this event will not happen in 2021.

Hope the lesson is learned, and people’s health is finally prioritised from now.

The Olympics are dead. Stop wasting even more money and jeopardizing more lives.

Thailand has relatively few cases of infections, while Japan has been fighting with record numbers of confirmed cases and hospitalizations since November. The worst-hit areas are large cities like Tokyo and Osaka.

What! I thought Japan had the secret formula and that nobody washes their hands and does social hygiene as well as the Japanese.

Holding the Olympics during a fast spreading, international pandemic is like building a NPP in a well known earthquake faultline with a history of massive tsunamis. What could possibly go wrong?

Zero support for these small towns expected to host athletes and carry on as normal when the world is far from normal.

By July 2021, herd immunity through vaccination is unlikely even in the US. In other countries, especially poor ones, it will still be miles away. This complicates not only the hosting of the games but also the messaging around it. It will be far too early for any triumphalism over Covid-19. Maybe some country can do that domestically by then, but it would be completely wrong for a global event.

I hadn’t even thought about this issue before but this is just a worst of both worlds situation for those towns. They get zero benefits since they can have zero interaction with the athletes while they stay on the one hand, while they have all the burden and risk associated with hosting them dumped on them on the other. What a nightmare.

What uncertainty? At all costs means at at all costs, for money and own health or even own lifes.

Closer to $30 billion spent on these games, according to an independent audit earlier in the year, and more was suspected...as information was hard to obtain.

Tokyo 2024

The local hosts are told fairytales from the beginning. It is only for a very few of them worth the costs and efforts. Only those getting top selections with top athletes but most top athletes do not join the early camps.

Besides , those local administrations miss the professional sports and general marketing skills to make it work for them. It is almost alway a win ( the selection) loose ( the town) situation. Dentsu likes it that way, the LOC too as it means less costs , possibly more revenue for them. I have made similar arrangements in the past but ALWAYS made sure the costs were paid by private companies NOT taxpayers. That is a bit more work but much more satisfying and I still made good money but on a job welldone. Dentsu is even making more money on a job NOT done at all, by demanding more sponsorship for an event ( tokyo2020) that did not happen.

I this wasn't so funny I would cry. Everyone knows that the Pandemic is here to stay for a long while.