Japan Press Weekly

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2021 March 24 - 30 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Torch relay started amid concern over 4th wave of COVID-19

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on March 25 said, "Japan should seriously consider giving up on holding the Summer Games, unless a safe and secure Olympics is guaranteed."

Shii said this in response to the press corps asking him for a comment on the torch relay which started on the day for the Tokyo Olympics amid growing concern over a possible fourth wave of COVID-19 spread.

Shii said, "There has been no Olympics held under a pandemic situation. In the Tokyo Olympics, more than 11,000 athletes will assemble. Without careful preparations, it may lead to serious consequences. No country should gamble on people's lives and health." He again demanded that Japan seriously consider if it should hold the Olympics this summer.

The torch relay departed Fukushima Prefecture on March 25 for Tokyo and will pass through 859 municipalities across Japan. A total of 10,000 runners will participate in the relay that will end at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics slated for July 23. The most recent opinion poll, however, shows that about 70% of respondents think that the Olympics should be "postponed" or "cancelled".