Olympics

Asahi Shimbun: Cancel The Tokyo Olympics

The newspaper also called the International Olympic Committee "self-righteous," noting the "huge gap" between officials and public sentiment.

Asahi Shimbun: Cancel The Tokyo Olympics
Eugene Hoshiko / AP
Article by Adam Elrashidi
SMS
May 26, 2021

A major Japanese publication thinks the Tokyo Olympics should be called off. 

The Asahi Shimbun newspaper urged government officials to re-evaluate starting the games on July 23 amid a surge of coronavirus cases. 

The paper also called the International Olympic Committee "self-righteous," noting the (quote) "huge gap" between officials and public sentiment. 

Japan is firmly committed to the event and says it can be held safely. 

However, recent polls show between 60 to 80% of Japanese want the event canceled because of the pandemic.