The results of this poll are worrying for Japan, less than 10 weeks before the Olympic Games.
According to this opinion poll, carried out by the daily Asahi and published on Monday, more than 80% of Japanese people are opposed to the organization of this event postponed last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
This survey is also released after the decision of the Japanese government on Friday to expand the state of health emergency to nine departments in this country facing a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections, putting its health system under pressure .
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It reveals that 43% of those questioned want the Games to be canceled and 40% a further postponement.
Those numbers are up from the 35% who supported the cancellation in a survey by the same newspaper a month ago and the 34% who wanted a further postponement.
Only 14% are in favor of holding the Games as planned this summer, against 28% previously, according to this telephone survey of 1,527 people.
Only 3% plead for a normal capacity in the stadiums
If the Games are held, 59% of those polled said they did not want an audience, 33% favoring a reduction in the number of spectators and 3% favoring Games with normal capacity in the stadiums. For months, all the polls show that a majority of Japanese oppose the holding of the Olympics (July 23-August 8). Another poll carried out by the Kyodo news agency and published on Sunday shows that 59.7% of those questioned are in favor of the cancellation of the Olympics, although a new postponement was not cited as an option.
The organizers of the Olympic Games keep repeating that very strict antivirus measures, including regular tests on athletes and the ban on spectators coming from abroad, will allow the Olympics to be held "in complete safety". But the Kyodo poll found that 87.7% of those polled fear the influx of athletes and delegations could spread the virus.
Japan has so far experienced a smaller Covid-19 epidemic than that observed in many countries, with some 11,500 officially recorded deaths since early 2020. But the government has come under fire for delays in its program. vaccination. According to the Kyodo poll, 85% of those questioned consider this program to be slow and 71.5% are unhappy with the way the government is handling the health crisis.