Suga vows to contain virus, hold Olympics in New Year's address

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday said the government will do everything in its power to bring the coronavirus under control and pledged to push forward with preparations for this summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

A classic non sequitur.

I’m going to do everything in my power to eat healthily this year, and also crack on with plans of how to consume this 5kg block of chocolate.

So he thanked front line health workers by promising to make their work even more difficult? At this point the pandemic and the Olympic games are contradicting priorities, until now the government has made clear the games are much more important.

Yeah okay Suga, that would require you to actually do something. Like literally anything at this point considering the fact that for the last 3 months he has done squat.

The man is lost, in panic mode. He has no clue what to do to be re elected in September but to hold on to already bankrupt policies. Olympics, bureaucracy and the old boys networks.

Consider this the fourth 2011 disaster. The earthquake, tsunami, nuclear meltdown and the Olympics.

I’m confused. I thought Nikai was Suga’s boss but it now appears Aso is the boss. He is the one that said old people should hurry up and pass away because they are a drain on the economy...

My opinion: Old people please stay home. We love you

contain virus ???

If you wanted to contain the virus then you should not have started the Go To Travel and Go To Eat campaigns should you? And forget about the Olympics only complete morons who live in a parallel universe in which there is no virus believe Olympics can still go ahead.

It may be that these Tokyo summer Olympic games does not happen at all. If cancelled in 2021 they will be abandoned. Unless the mass vaccination of a majority of the worlds population can occur within the next six months the Olympics are in doubt. Fault can not be assigned to anyone in Japan for a world wide pandemic that originated elsewhere. There must be compensation from the world wide Olympic body should an abandonment happen.

Japan has maintained a positive outlook and momentum only to be thwarted by circumstance. Holding an Olympic games that could threaten the lives of Japanese locals, visitors, competitors and officials would not be right. The most remembered aspect could well be the cost in lives lost and that is not something anyone wants.

It would be a great disappointment for the world to miss the spectacle of a 2021 Tokyo summer games but to endure the deaths of perhaps tens or hundreds of people or more, from the holding of the games would be to high a price to pay.

Peter14

Any games would have insurance in case of cancellation and is not for the world to pay. Whether Tokyo bothered with that would be a better question

Reinsurers are sweating hard.

I got interview with them and never had a reply surely because of the situation.

Bad bad bad money bet to insure the olympic games. Worse than a natural a catastrophe economically because there will be nothing to rebuild, only a full loss.

I feel sad for Japan who does not deserve that.

I do not claim to be qualified to make policy decisions in the health field, but from what little I know it seems that PM Suga could solve his problem by mounting a massive vaccination program in Japan, and by, also, requiring that all athletes, support staff, and visiting fans receive vaccinations at least a month before entering the country.

Translation: Suga promises to suppress testing enough so that the "reported" covid cases goes down so that Olympics can move forward and Dentsu and its executives gets to loot more taxpayer money.

Neither nor... Exploding infection numbers will quite surely soon bring silence on this issue, wether he is continuously forced by those background voices who have the real power or not. More interesting would be his personal opinion, if he has one, not only presenting what they put him on the desk and force to publish.

I wonder how he'll make good on this vow?

Maybe make a new mascot named Covey?

Or maybe put up some signs telling Covid-19 to stay out? "No Covid Allowed"

Or maybe appoint a blue ribbon panel of retired bureaucrats to study the issue deeply?

Or maybe give everyone two free masks?

Except to be thwarted by conditions, Japan retained an optimistic attitude and momentum. It wouldn't be fair to stage an Olympic Games that could endanger the lives of Japanese residents, tourists, athletes and officials. The cost of lives lost may well be the most remembered factor, and that is not something anyone wants.