tokyo 2020 olympics

Tokyo 2020 board talks about vaccines, but not a word on further delay

28 Comments
By Rocky Swift and Sakura Murakami

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© Thomson Reuters 2021.

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

28 Comments
Login to comment

"There will be cases, but having one case or a couple of cases doesn't mean that it was a failure," Tara Kirk Sell, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told Reuters on Tuesday.

Tara, surely you know that people have already got sick & some died from covid for the olympics here in Japan over the last year while the govt here messed with shutdowns, pseudo SOEs etc & mixed with GO TO crap & people travelling on holidays while the govt tried to lie to the world that Japan was ""ok""

So Tara YES people have died, a guy just jumped in front of a train yesterday......how many DEAD are ok with you, we sincerely want to know!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

At this point is is completely clear that for the organizers there is no other acceptable outcome but to hold the games this summer, the public opinion or the warnings of experts are not something that will change their minds, so instead they bring more measures that will complicate even more the situation for the host city.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

However, a former Olympian turned public health expert said she believed the Games can be pulled off with an acceptable level of risk.

I hate to imagine that there was a meeting where they discussed what was “an acceptable level of risk”

At the end of the day no one know what will happen during or after the games. It is just the wrong time to bring people from all around the world to Japan. It is not just going to effect around Tokyo and Sapporo. Teams are going to be in training camps all over Japan over the coming weeks.

Infections have gone down during SOE, then it’s lifted and the infections increase. What is the plan if that happens again? The medical system will struggle yet again right on the eve of the games. Only this time round we already have at least 2 variants in the mix.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Hitoshi Oshitani was an architect of Japan's "Three Cs” approach to the pandemic, which advises avoiding closed spaces, crowds and close contact.

"These Games are very much a symbol of the whole world emerging from this terrible, global pandemic," she said. "If we wanted to be as safe as possible, we'd never leave our house." - a former Olympian turned public health expert

These are the "experts" Japan's Olympic Committee is listening to?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

It's possible to give vaccines, but not possible to vaccinate within 45 days. It takes two shots minimum 3-4 weeks apart and then a few more weeks to be protected. But I am sure you know that.

If the volunteers were given the first dose next week (14-18 June) and the second dose three weeks later (5-9 July), they would all be fully vaccinated by the opening ceremony (23 July).

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"We are still in a very difficult situation, but we have seen a gradual decrease of infections in Tokyo, and I am praying that the pandemic is brought under control as swiftly as possible," Hashimoto said at the start of the Tokyo 2020 board meeting.

Praying? Glad to learn for a board member to make reference. I wonder who he prayed to and he prayed for.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

From Japantimes:

In a TBS poll published Monday, roughly 55% called for the games to be postponed or canceled, while just 44% said the games should be held.

Respondents were more closely split in a survey released the same day by Yomiuri Shimbun, in which half the respondents said the games should go on while 48% said they should be canceled.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Therefore, @Stephan 8:11am, ...

*- “Media in Japan is ridiculous, printing stories to angle the situation based on what they want you to see and be influenced by. *

... aren’t You then ‘equally’ warranted to keep reposting...

*- “Look at the ‘Top Stories’ over the past few days, constant headlines to agree ‘everything is ok’ no matter how insignificant or small the reason may be.” - *

... on any ‘related’ article’s comments thread?

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

I would love to have been born in another life as someone who had money just for talking as a member of a board, consider things, look into things and so on, essentialy not doing anything but get money

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"These Games are very much a symbol of the whole world emerging from this terrible, global pandemic," she said. "

Except we aren't. If this was being held next year and vaccinations were immensely ramped up worldwide, MAYBE. Some regions are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, Japan isn't one of them, but even then holding a global event of this magnitude just seems insane and tempting fate.

If you break your leg, you don't go running a marathon the day you get your cast off.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Disappointing to see ‘some’,who just 2 weeks ago, didn’t like lockdowns, didn’t trust govt ‘numbers’ and IOC/JOC ‘marketing’ now ’so easily manipulated’ and ‘lulled into submission’. For example:

*- @Monty 7:23am: ”TBS this wk, showed 55% wanted the Games postponed/cancelled, -10 pts fr last mo.” - “So people start to change their minds...it seems that more people are getting OK with the Olympics.“ -*

...and within the next month, most probably, to ‘become’ avid and enthusiastic supporters of the JOC and all things “Team Japan”.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

You can blame China for all the problems it caused the entire world.

They screwed the entire planet.

I don’t see them repairing this issue.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Japan’s obsession with the Olympics may have already cost lives. The Japanese government only decided to postpone the Games last year on March 24. Up until then, neither the government nor Tokyo were particularly focused on tackling the virus. They were hesitant to test people, lest many people show up positive for the COVID-19. Border measures were taken too late and there were no substantial quarantine measures in place. It wasn’t until the day after the postponement, March 25, that governor Yuriko Koike held a press conference acknowledging the ‘critical situation’ and ‘the explosion of infections’ sweeping the country. The obsession is still firmly entrenched.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Human life is more important than the Olympics.

— Hitomi Niiya, Japanese long-distance runner.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Why are they asking for anything?

Just take it like they’ve been doing from the public.

The Olympic Games are OBVIOUSLY the most important thing in the world, of course they should have first dibs.

And no need to cancel any Olympics events. We can all wait for it to all finish to finally START planing to vaccine the general public. No rush at all. We’ve been waiting for months and months. What’s a couple more to wait for?

morons…….

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

 A poll by broadcaster TBS this week showed 55% wanted the Games either postponed or cancelled - down 10 points from last month.

And since they seem to deliberately didn't provide further info I'll just assume half, 27.5% wanted the games cancelled.

27.5% want it to go through at a later date and the rest want it to go through as scheduled

0 ( +1 / -1 )

They are completely missing the point and rambling on about vaccines. Unless 100% vaccinated, there is a risk to those who are not, and most of Tokyo who can not get a vaccine yet.

if you come for the Olympics, get COVID, and can’t get a hospital bed because they are full, it is your responsibility.

if you come to the Olympics and spread the virus to us in Tokyo, and we get sick and someone dies… it is YOUR FAULT.

We don’t want the Olympics killing/sickening the local population and putting even greater stress on the medical system here.

Vaccines or not, the Olympics will spread the virus in Tokyo… and then back around the world.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Media in japan is ridiculous they keep printing stories to actually angle the situation based on what they want you to see and be influenced by. Look at the top stories that have been printed here over the past few days it’s constantly headlines trying to make you agree that everything is ok no matter how insignificant or small the reason may be, not really printing much on what some may find interesting on the opinions of why it may be wrong to hold these game now. At least not more than a line or two.

They will ask 100 people a question 99 of them will not give them the answer they are looking for and then decide to run the story on the 1 that does or just run the survey again and again until a suitable outcome is reached.

When you watch all those food shows on TV you never hear anyone say Oh that tastes awful or horrid it’s always Oishi and Umai but sadly it’s the same regarding these Olympics and this Pandemic how many times do you see them interview someone on the street in Tokyo on NHK that says it’s insanity to hold these games now? Never!!! If they keep printing stories to tell the public more people are ok with this even if they are not they know the Japanese public eventually will be ok with it. This is not news it’s public control and persuasion.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

Japan's public remains divided about holding the Games, although opposition appears to be easing somewhat. A poll by broadcaster TBS this week showed 55% wanted the Games either postponed or cancelled - down 10 points from last month.

I didn't know there was a poll last month showing numbers was down to 65%. Maybe it was all over the news like other polls and I just missed it

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Seems govt still doesn't provide vaccines to JOC.

Anyway IOCshould have thought of vaccinating everyone involved in the Olympics from the start

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Look at the media Now reducing last week’s 80% disapproval. (It’s systematically being edited into various news stories starting Jun 5.) The disapproval numbers are now being reported as:

“A poll by broadcaster TBS this week showed 55% wanted the Games either postponed/cancelled” -

and they’re Now claiming disapproval was as [65 %] last month!

-“down 10 points from last month.”-

11 ( +14 / -3 )

I am praying that the pandemic is brought under control as swiftly as possible

Well, so long as Hashimoto is praying, we should be alright. How silly of me to think vaccinations would be necessary.

13 ( +16 / -3 )

A poll by broadcaster TBS this week showed 55% wanted the Games either postponed or cancelled - down 10 points from last month.

So people start to change their mind...it seems that more people are getting OK with the Olympics.

-10 ( +2 / -12 )

Tokyo 2020 board talks about vaccines, but not a word on further delay

Also not a word on vaccine speed up too.

6 ( +11 / -5 )

Bar Olympic cancellation, vaccination of the volunteers is probably the safest route. Widespread vaccination of university students/staff/personnel and company employees will begin on June 21, so the skipping-the-line argument directed at the volunteers might not carry much weight.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites