Tokyo 2020 Volunteer force members have joined protests to call off the upcoming Olympic Games. Almost 10,000 volunteers are reported to have quit amidst the growing dissent over staging the Games next month.
Japan’s national broadcaster Nippon Hoso Kyokai (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) has reported that 10,000 out of the 80,000 Tokyo 2020 volunteer force have left their posts. They want the July 23-August 8 Games to be cancelled or postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Over 83% of Japanese citizens in different surveys have voted against hosting the Games as emergency has been in force in 10 regions, including the Olympics host city Tokyo.
The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and the International Olympic Committee, determined to stage the postponed Games on the revised schedule, are insisting that the Olympics will be safe. There are stringent measures in place for athletes and officials, numbers of national contingent members are slashed and international spectators have been barred from attending the Games.
The initiative and assurances have not been able to convince the Japanese residents. The groups opposing the Games include doctors and even the Tokyo 2020 local sponsors.
Till date more than 415,000 people have signed a Change.org petition asking the Government to cancel the Games.
Despite a consistent decline in the Covid-19 cases, the State authorities have allayed fears that cases may spark again after strict restrictions are lifted.
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