The Summer Olympic Games officially began (Kyodo) in Japan today, with an opening ceremony in a largely empty stadium underscoring the threat the coronavirus still poses to the world and to Tokyo itself. The city registered a six-month high (AP) in COVID-19 cases yesterday.
After a yearlong postponement, organizers had hoped that games could represent the recovery from the pandemic, but Tokyo has been under a state of emergency due to the virus since last week. Amid public unease with the games, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s approval has fallen (Nikkei) from 74 percent at the start of his term to 33 percent in July. Organizers have said they hope a reduced-capacity Olympic Games, which run through August 8, can still inspire viewers. Over 11,000 athletes, representing 205 countries, are set to participate (AFP). Suga is meeting with foreign dignitaries (Nikkei) in Tokyo for the opening ceremony, including U.S. First Lady Jill Biden and World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Analysis
“By starting the Games this week, the IOC has ensured that Tokyo 2020 will be remembered for the surrounding chaos and atmospherics—not the sports or medals. This has cost already Japan its big kumbaya moment in the global spotlight,” William Pesek writes for Nikkei Asian Review.
“Japan’s Olympics bid was about so much more than hosting the summer games. For [former] Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the 2020 Summer Olympics were to be a demonstration of renewal, one more statement to the world that “Japan is back!” Echoing the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the themes were to be Japan’s technological prowess, its ability to recover from difficulty, and its hospitality,”
