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© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Abe could be big loser if Tokyo Olympics canceled, postponed
By STEPHEN WADE and MARI YAMAGUCHI TOKYO©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
35 Comments
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memoryfix
It’s not Abe’s fault. I don’t have much opinion about Abe, either for or against.
But it’s not his fault.
And it’s not Trump’s fault.
I really, REALLY, dislike this mostly American and Japanese mentality of fire the coach if the team has a problem. This disease came upon them the same as on everyone else. They are dependent on the same advisors, day to day, no matter if they are replaced or not. They also have - as their job - preventing panic and taking an upbeat attitude.
Best approach - stick together and stand behind your leaders, people!
Yubaru
That's what the lemmings said before they all fell off the cliff!
gogogo
He is already a loser so no problems.
Yubaru
When the Olympics either get cancelled (I doubt it) or postponed (yeah I'd bet on this one) Abe will manage to find a way to sugar-coat the guano sandwich he feeds to the people here!
since1981
"could be"? "if"? Sounds like he is more important than the lives of people in Japan.
No one will be a loser if the Olympics is canceled. If he cancels it, my respect for him would go up a tad.
aomorisamurai
@memoryfix
So it's not their fault. To that point, granted; the devastating virus is not of their making.
Where you're wrong is: how did both Abe and Trump respond to it? Deny, deny, deny...downplayed it and buried their heads in the sand. You want to be the leader of a nation, you better act like it. Listen to the experts and make sound decisions.
mu-da
He will stick to his mantra until the decision is taken from him and the Olympics are cancelled. Then he'll blame others.
BertieWooster
Yes, yes, yes!
Wolfpack
In America the level of partisan enmity is so deeply ingrained in the Left it is virtually unthinkable that they will cooperate with the President even though lives literally depend on it. For hundreds of years Americans have been willing to give their lives to preserve freedom. In modern America there are a cadre of Leftist willing to sacrifice the lives of their constituents to limit Trump to one term. For what - Socialism? I saw a Democrat governor going out of his way to gratuitously bad mouth the President on national tv rather than making the effort to work with him for for the benefit of the people of his state. It was a disgusting disregard for the well being of his constituents.
I sure hope things are not like this in Japan.
Yubaru
Conveniently left out all the "coaches" and managers throughout the world who get fired when their team fails to perform, or worse!
Hater's are just going to hate!
Arrrgh-Type
The concern I have is that every Japanese government response is colored by the apparently desperate need to hold the Olympics this year. When Abe says something or does something about the coronavirus, is it really for the best of all of us? Or is it just part of an attempt to save the Olympics? What government resources are being used for Olympics preparations that could be put to better use to combat the epidemic? None of these things are happening in a vacuum.
Wallace Fred
Hes always been a loser. Nothing new.
Toshihiro
he would be even a bigger loser if he still pushes the Olympics while the rest of the world is still fighting the pandemic. Time to cut your losses, Abe
MikaTakara
Leheny speculated that Abe's tenure would be unlikely to survive a cancellation or postponement. He has been embroiled in corruption scandals and blamed for his slow reaction to the virus outbreak. Although, his popularity increased about 8 percentage points to 49.7% in a telephone poll released this week by Japanese news agency Kyodo.
I wonder if the Professor Leheny saw the poll.
PM Abe would lose his job if did what the Japanese people asked him to do?
MikaTakara
It’s not Abe’s fault. I don’t have much opinion about Abe, either for or against.
It is no one's fault. But the haters gonna hate.
anon99999
The Olympics will be cancelled or postponed and it is not his fault at all, but he will have made himself look a far bigger fool than he could have by insisting it is going to happen still even now. And unfortunately the country will be the big loser for not dealing better with the virus because of this futile Olympic obsession.
MikaTakara
If the Olympics are cancelled or postpone, I have three questions.
1) What will happen to Japan and China relations?
2) What does it mean for the beijing winter olympics 2022? If you cancel Tokyo because of Covid19, then it follows that China should not be allowed to hold the Winter Olympics in 2022, because they lied to world about Covid19 and their human rights record.
3) What will the Japanese people think about the outside world???
Fuzzy
And he's really doing a fantastic job of screwing it up. I don't get why they don't just concede that a cancellation or postponement is a "possibility", that they are watching to covid situation carefully and hope to go ahead as planned, but will make a tough decision when the time comes if necessary. Show the world you are willing to make sacrifice if deemed necessary. Instead, they keep insisting it will absolutely go ahead. They'll keep doing that right up until the day they do 180 degree turn and announce it's off.
Pukey2
Well, the best thing to come out of a cancellation or postponement is Abe being turfed out in humiliating fashion. Karma for all the other scandals. And he can take that Mario costume with him.
Strangerland
No, that does not follow. It does not follow at all. It's a non-sequitur.
If the Japan olympics don't happen it won't be because they lied, it's because there is a virus going around the world.
China lying to the world isn't an equivalent.
kohakuebisu
The headline sounds like speculation. The Asahi newspaper poll yesterday said the majority of Japanese wanted the games postponed or cancelled. Why would they blame Abe if coronavirus stopped the games?
Abe seemed to get more bashing for the hanami party than Moritomo, so I wouldn't try to second guess what ordinary Japanese people have a problem with. I'd look at the polls instead.
chloe Koba
Japanese media is so stupid
Yes you can have your stupid Olympics and win all medals
Gold all Japan
Silver all Japan
Bronze all Japan
THINK about saving the world not your face. no one would blame Japan of canceled or postponed.
Act and think global for once not Japanese old age mentality.
Jimizo
Same as before for remotely thoughtful people. They will look at the ‘outside world’ as individual countries and cultures rather than ‘the outside world’. This would show thought and wisdom.
MikaTakara
China lying to the world isn't an equivalent.
You are right. China lying to world is much much worse.
MikaTakara
THINK about saving the world not your face. no one would blame Japan of canceled or postponed.
Act and think global for once not Japanese old age mentality.
Japan-developed drug Avigan works against coronavirus
not bad for Japanese old age mentality
Kobe White Bar Owner
Could be.........?
TARA TAN KITAOKA
Stop this kind of blame, this is abt human lives. We have news from around the world that the cure will not be found before dec 2020. america had just injected more fund to stop this virus. It is not time to worry abt yr neck abe. Worry abt the victims and the victims to be if such a huge crowd visits japan.
Graham DeShazo
When the virus takes hold, This will be the least of Abe’s problems.
Kumagaijin
No, he would be a loser if he didn't cancel/postpone the Olympics and no one showed up or watched the events because of covid-19. Or, if there was an outbreak during the games. This is like saying Trump would be a loser if he told Americans to protect themselves from the coronavirus. Duh
macv
Great idea - allow hundreds of thousands of visitors athletes support staff to come over, risk getting CV-19, if they can even get tested - which is a big IF - they'll be quarantined for xx length of time away from home their jobs their family and funds, won't be allowed to leave, who will pay for all of that? Allow me to digress - Maui Hawaii began drive thru CV-19 tests how cool is that? Hawaii forbids travelers from Europe, Korea, China, shut down all tours and parks, beaches, surf schools, all the brand name shops work from home, schools using Zoom online platform, clubs bars closed, restaurants can only sell take away or curbside. Japan has no distance learning program. MOE informed they don't know a thing about distance / online learning. Said a few HS do it but there is no list or database of schools that do. HK airport screens everyone very thoroughly. My son just got back from Bali today - very few tourists there - at Narita all they did was take his temperature with an electronic device they pointed at him as he walked by, didn't ask him one question. This is Japan!