Policy Alert #233 | July 26 2021

After a one-year delay due to COVID pandemic, the Tokyo Olympics finally opened on July 23 with a muted ceremony in an empty stadium of fewer than 1000 spectators.[1] Against protests by the public and warnings from the medical community[2] while Tokyo’s new virus cases nearly reached 2000 a day,[3] the Japanese government put the capital under state of emergency and pushed forward with the Olympic games as a broadcast-only event with no spectators.[4]

In this Policy Alert, we briefly examine the Rising Powers’ anticipations of the Tokyo Olympics.

Japan

In an op-ed for the conservative Yomiuri Shimbun, Takashi Mikuriya, Professor Emeritus in Japanese political history at the University of Tokyo, urges the Japanese government to maintain an accurate archive of its decision-making process throughout the Tokyo Olympics:

• “The current administration has been exposed to strong criticism for its decision-making process regarding measures for the novel coronavirus pandemic and the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. When the early years of the Reiwa era are recalled in future, it will likely become clear that the recent decisions to declare a fourth COVID-19 state of emergency for Tokyo and hold most Games competitions without spectators were of great significance… It is natural for the Suga administration to have a sense of crisis as it is afraid that its approval ratings may turn from ‘gradual decline’ into ‘free fall.’ The administration, of course, has to have the relevant decision-making processes accurately recorded in writing. What is required of the Suga administration is to unambiguously explain to the nation once more why it has decided to hold the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.”[5]

China

In an op-ed for Hong Kong-based newspaper South China Morning Post, Syed Munir Khasru, Chairman of the Institute for Policy, Advocacy, and Governance (IPAG), an independent think tank with a presence in Dhaka, Delhi, Melbourne, Vienna, and Dubai, criticizes the decision to move ahead with the Tokyo Olympics as a disaster waiting to happen:

• “The world’s best athletes are being left at the mercy of a government and an international organisation that are supposed to be looking after their well-being. Already, at least 55 people linked to the Olympics have reported positive Covid-19 tests since July 1… The challenges facing the organisers are real. The fear is that the Games could trigger an outbreak within the athletic community or even the city. An Olympic Covid-19 outbreak would not only test the limits of Japan’s health care system but could also possibly incubate a new Olympic variant.”[6]

India

In an op-ed for the liberal Indian Express, Shahid Jameel, a virologist at Ashoka University in Haryana, suggests that the spread of Delta variant and the low vaccination rate in Japan are the greatest threats to the Tokyo Olympics:

• The Olympics are coinciding with a Delta variant surge in Japan. This variant is four to five times more infectious than the B.1 virus. Of the 334 AY.1 sub-lineage Delta plus sequences globally, 49 (or 14.7 per cent) are from Japan. These numbers and trends should be cause for worry… Another worry is the vaccination rate in Japan. By July 19, about 72 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were administered, covering 34 per cent of Japan’s population with one dose and 28.4 million people (or 22.5 per cent) with both doses.”[7]

Russia

 In an op-ed for the government-funded RT, Paul Nuttall, former Leader of the UK Independent Party, and former Member of the European Parliament, predicts that the Tokyo Olympics could be the most politicized since the 1936 Berlin games:

• “Although back in April the IOC maintained that it would uphold Rule 50, which bans any ‘demonstration or political, religious, or racial propaganda,’ it bowed to pressure last week and relaxed the rule… As a result, Great Britain’s women’s football team have announced that they will be taking the knee before their matches. And American athletes will no doubt push this rule to its limit… [Tokyo Olympics] have the potential of being the most politically charged since the 1980s, or possibly even since the 1930s. Debates around identity politics, taking the knee and black power salutes could overshadow what is set to be an enthralling sporting spectacle.”[8]

[1] https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/07/15/national/opening-ceremony-numbers/

[2] https://apnews.com/article/business-health-coronavirus-pandemic-olympic-games-2020-tokyo-olympics-dd49a7aaaa6c59defea9670c5b19475c

[3] https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-sports-health-tokyo-coronavirus-pandemic-1f325200eb530168a9acc7bd5fab29a1

[4] https://apnews.com/article/tokyo-lifestyle-health-coronavirus-pandemic-olympic-games-5fe54df9b5c06abbc54a633cbd0d907e

[5] https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:636F-C231-DYX5-X3T8-00000-00&context=1516831

[6] https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3141806/amid-pandemic-tokyo-olympics-disaster-waiting-happen?module=perpetual_scroll&pgtype=article&campaign=3141806

[7] https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/should-we-cheer-or-fear-the-tokyo-olympics-7416007/

[8] https://www.rt.com/op-ed/529610-summer-olympics-tokyo-politics/