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Japanese Emperor Naruhito is the honorary patron of the Olympics and Paralympics. And he may not be happy with the Olympics taking place in Tokyo amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
"His majesty is very worried about the current infection situation of the COVID-19 disease," Yasuhiko Nishimura, grand steward of the agency, said at a press conference. [https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/06/2da58f110573-breaking-news-emperor-concerned-olympics-may-cause-infections-to-rise-official-believes.html]
Emperor's every word is weighed and analyzed in Japan. In normal circumstances, his statement would have been taken as the disapproval of the Olympics. But it has probably come so late in the day that the Japanese government may find it almost impossible to cancel or postpone the Games.
Japan's top government playing down the remarks, has said that it may not be the emperor's views but that of the grand steward, and has asserted that the Games, which are just a month away, will be held.
There have been a rise in Covid-19 cases in Tokyo, with the capital reporting more than 600 new infections this week, the highest single-day spike in around a month. Japan has been in a state of emergency as positive cases of Covid-19 continued to climb throughout the country for months.
Although the organizers of the Games, including the International Olympic Committee and the Japanese government, have been consistent in saying that the Games will go ahead, the opposition to the games has only increased from the Japanese public, including the Asahi Shimbun, the official Tokyo Olympics newspaper sponsor.
Almost all the surveys conducted in Japan have found an overwhelming number of people calling for either postponement or cancelation. [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/18/world/asia/covid-japan-olympics-poll.html] The emperor seems to agree with the majority, but he may be too late in suggesting that.
Read more:
News report:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/06/24/olympics-emperor-japan
The emperor's worry:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/24/japan-emperor-voices-concern-covid-spread-during-olympics
In the run-up to the Games:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/23/tokyo-olympics-organisers-alcohol-sales-ban-japan