The Japanese government once again extended this Friday the state of emergency in force in part of the archipelago in the face of Covid-19, until June 20 now, almost a month before the opening of the Olympic Games in Tokyo (July 23-August 8). "The number of new cases has declined since mid-May, but the situation continues to be uncertain," said Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. The state of emergency, which had already been extended by three weeks in May, currently concerns 10 of the 47 Japanese departments, including those of Tokyo and its suburbs, Osaka or Kyoto (west). This device is however much lighter than the containment measures imposed elsewhere in the world.It mainly consists of forcing bars and restaurants to close at 8:00 p.m. and asking them not to serve alcohol.
The Japanese archipelago has been relatively spared from the pandemic with some 12,700 officially recorded deaths since early 2020, according to an updated report on Friday, but it is currently undergoing a fourth wave of the coronavirus.
The Japanese government is criticized for its handling of the health crisis, the slowness of its vaccination program and its insistence on maintaining the Olympic Games, which involve the arrival of tens of thousands of athletes, officials and journalists from around the world.
On Wednesday, the Japanese newspaper
Asahi
, official partner of the Olympic Games and the second national daily newspaper in terms of circulation, called for the cancellation of the event, which it described as "a threat to health".
"Awareness" of concerns
Multiple opinion polls in recent months show a Japanese population largely reluctant to host the Games, although calls for demonstrations have not attracted many people so far. Some leaders of large companies in the country not partners of the event have also expressed their opposition and new medical associations joined the anti-JO concert this week, citing in particular the potential spread of variants. In March, the organizers had decided to ban the arrival of spectators from abroad, a first in Olympic history. They must decide in June on the presence or not of spectators residing in Japan.
"I think that the number of supporters (...) will be decided after the lifting of the state of emergency," Seiko Hashimoto, chair of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, said on Friday. Suga said he had "Awareness" of the concerns of many of his fellow citizens about the Olympics.
"We hear their voices and we are preparing for safe and secure Games," he said.
He also recalled that athletes will not come into contact with the local population and that the number of official representatives and media from abroad should be drastically reduced.
Impatience of athletes
The vast majority of athletes selected around the world are impatiently preparing for the Olympic Games, even if some express reservations. World tennis number one Novak Djokovic said on Thursday that he would reconsider his participation if the public were not allowed. US President Joe Biden was in favor of holding the Games in April and on Thursday, the European Union supported the event, "a symbol of global unity to defeat Covid-19". Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, stressed Thursday that the authorization given by the EU to export more than 100 million doses of vaccines to Japan was "a strong sign of our support for the preparation of the Olympic Games and the security of these Games ”.
Japan, the world's third-largest economy, is lagging behind in its vaccination program: less than 2.5% of the national population has received two doses so far, due in particular to red tape. However, this campaign is showing the first signs of acceleration. Mr Suga estimated on Friday that the rate of one million injections per day could be reached after mid-June, against 400,000 per day on average now. General elections in the country must be held no later than October. The Prime Minister's popularity has plummeted in recent months, but his conservative party, the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD), which has dominated Japanese political life for more than half a century, is hardly threatened for the Prime Minister. moment by an opposition appearing weak and divided,according to experts.
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