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Updated June 3rd, 2021 at 13:23 IST

Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics sees over 10,000 volunteers quit due to Covid fear

The pressure on the Japanese government continues to increase ahead of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 as 10,000 volunteers dropped out just 50 days before the games.

Reported by: Vidit Dhawan
Tokyo Olympics 2020 volunteers
Tokyo Olympics 2020 volunteers | Image:self
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The scheduling of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 has been the major talking point for a while as Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has been urged to cancel the games by several groups over the past few weeks. A week after Asahi Shimbun, a top Japanese publication and sponsor of the Tokyo Olympics, joined the groups opposing the games, over 10,000 volunteers have also now quit due to the increasing Covid-19 fear. So the question is: "Will Tokyo Olympics get cancelled?" The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to take place this year from 23 July to 8 August.

Will Tokyo Olympics get cancelled? 10,000 volunteers quit just two months ahead of the Summer Olympics

The Japanese organising committee reported on Wednesday that roughly 10,000 of the 80,000 volunteers originally scheduled to help at this summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics have quit amid fears of the Covid-19 pandemic. "There's no doubt that one of the reasons is concern over coronavirus infections," said Toshiro Muto, CEO of the organising committee, when speaking to Japanese reporters about the impact of the coronavirus. However, he yet insisted that he did not believe that the volunteer withdrawals will impact the operations of the Games, which were postponed last year due to the pandemic.

Volunteers are an instrumental part of the Summer Olympics as they help staff operate the facilities and venues and also assist spectators and athletes. Hence, if more continue to withdraw it could pose additional difficulties for the organisers. However, since no foreign spectators are allowed into Japan for the Games, organisers may not need as many volunteers as host cities have required in the past years. However, if more volunteers continue to drop out, the scheduling of the Tokyo Olympics this summer could be under severe threat.

Covid-19 Japan cases a serious concern ahead of Tokyo Olympics 2020

According to public opinion polls conducted in Japan a week ago, 60-80 % wanted the Tokyo Olympics 2020 cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Having recorded over 2,500 coronavirus cases for six of the previous seven days, Japan is currently undergoing a state of emergency. The Japanese government extended their state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas by about three weeks to June 20 as the Covid-19 pandemic shows no signs of easing less than just two months before the Summer Olympics open. The state of emergency in Tokyo and eight other areas had been scheduled to end on May 31. With the Tokyo Olympics 2020 dates approaching it remains to be seen if the games are indeed cancelled or not as opposition continues to increase.

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Published June 3rd, 2021 at 13:23 IST

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