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With aggressive lobbying by Suga, optimism grows that Tokyo will hold Olympics

24 Comments
By Tetsushi Kajimoto and Yoshifumi Takemoto

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24 Comments
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Trump: "Don't be afraid of Covid-19."

Suga: "Let's go ahead with Olympics."

Me: "I am staying home."

15 ( +17 / -2 )

Many Japanese remain opposed to holding the Games next year. A poll by public broadcaster NHK in July showed 66% of respondents said the events should be postponed further or cancelled. Just 26% thought they should proceed in July 2021

the majority of japanese are smarter than either Suga or Bach.

Idiots. No international event should be held now. I'll bet you there will be plenty of countries who won't send their athletes and on an individual level athletes that will refuse to compete. This will only make Japan look bad in the eyes of the world

14 ( +16 / -2 )

The game shouldn't be canceled in the firs place. Is Japan in pandemic mode now ? Absolutely not.

Down with the stupidity of the hopeless govt.

-15 ( +1 / -16 )

I wonder what the opening ceremony would look like under the scaled down plan.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

This article is such major BS!!!!!!!!!

abe was totally gung ho for the games, suga is just following in his shoes now, suga is NOT doing anything new or different. I really HATE these stupid blurbs that ALWAYS come out trying to show how MUCH some new politician is doing\planning they are painful to read!!!

8 ( +9 / -1 )

What else could five rings stand for?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I haven't read the article, as Olympics games include mostly, tell me if I am wrong, non-Japanese athletes who won't have to follow the Japanese lobby evoked, to say it politely.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

A new event "protesting your domestic issues" is also being introduced.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

said a ruling party heavyweight close to Suga.

It's always the same anonymous source.

Official Disclosure

Unofficial Disclosure

Leak

Breach of National Security

1 ( +1 / -0 )

If Suga manages to pull off the 2021 Olympics, against all odds, jaws will drop around the world. It will be the Suga games, and almost certainly secure him three more terms.

If it can be done safely, on a reduced scale with very few spectators, the Games will show the world that humanity can recover from the worst pandemic in a century. Lets all cross our fingers Suga pulls this off!

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

What else could five rings stand for?

Rings overlapping signifies the lack of social distancing.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

There is no Olympics if the athletes don't show up.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

When I look at Suga's face, optimism is not the first word that pops up in my head.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Good man that Suga, positive thinking will lift us all out of the covid doom and gloom, bring on the games

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

I think Suga and co will actually hold the Olympics, declare victory, and move on. It’ll be a complete disaster from a financial, logistics and safety perspective, but for them, it’s more important to “hold the Olympics” as opposed to it having any real benefits.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

because he is not tied to the promises of his predecessor, Shinzo Abe

I can see the pattern here, that's why Prime Ministers just last some months in Japan.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Add the new politicization of the athletes and you have a real super-farce in the making.

The death of the Olympics. Few will care.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Lets all cross our fingers Suga pulls this off!

Sure he'll pull something off, but it won't be the Olympics. The NOC's refusing to participate again will see to it, just like how it went down in March.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

"So much preparation has been done already, so the Games will happen whatever the cost," says it all. Suga, an old man, cares not for the citizenry. The man wants to open the borders to tourism. While a pandemic rages world-wide. Suga is an architect of the policies to increase foreign tourism from mainland Asia aka China. That worked out well. The tourism economy became dependent on the Chinese. Who brought Coronavirus to Japan & the world - then result, it crashed the Japanese tourist economy and the economy at large.

South Korea. 50% of the tourist economy is dependent on Chinese tourists. South Korea oppose certain policies of China. China banned Chinese tourists from visiting South Korea and crushed a large sector of the Korean economy. WHY would Japan expect China to act otherwise in dealing with Japan. Suga is thoughtless and simply near his expiration date, he only cares about the short term and his ego.

Olympics. All that matters to the powerful, is recovering their investment.

Patience and common sense seems to be lacking - no tourists or Olympics until there is a functional vaccine and the pandemic disappears.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Scrap it or rename it. The Olympics is dead as a movement.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

The Olympic Games once had enormous prestige. Long gone. Just money grubbing remains.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Holding the Olympics in 2021 will be a good thing. It won't be perfect, but the world needs to move on again. We should have a vaccine by then. Herd immunity will be more prevelant by then as well.

The kind of guarantee you are looking for doesn't exist. We need to adapt to the current situation.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

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