TOKYO OLYMPIC GAMES 2021: I’LL WITHDRAW FROM OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY, GOV. MARUYAMA THREATENS By Dike Uchechukwu

By Dike Solomon

Tatsuya Maruyama, the governor of Shimane prefecture, said on Wednesday that it was considering withdrawing from the torch relay, due to begin late next month, owing to concern over the spread of coronavirus.

“Should the present conditions continue, I think holding the Olympics should be avoided,” he said. “But given this situation where those who were meant to create an environment where we could safely enjoy the Olympics have not done what they need to do … I can’t help but say that it would be hard for Shimane to contribute to the hosting of the Olympic torch relay.”

About 10,000 runners are expected to carry the torch through Japan’s 47 prefectures, passing through 859 locations over 121 days before the opening ceremony at Tokyo’s national stadium on 23 July.
On Thursday, a Reuters poll showed that nearly two-thirds of Japanese firms opposed holding the Games as planned, in another sign that anti-Olympic sentiment is hardening in the host nation. It found that 36% of companies wanted a second postponement and 29% wanted cancellation. The remaining 35% wanted the Games to go ahead.
Asked how much impact the Games could have on the Japanese economy, 88% of the firms said they expected to feel either limited or very little effect, and only 5% expected a significant boost.
“If the Olympics can wait another year, we could then see vaccines become widely available,” an electric machinery maker manager said in the survey. A transport company manager wrote: “No one wants it to be held forcibly now.”
Japan only began its Covid-19 vaccine rollout this week, and large sections of the population will not have been inoculated by the time the Games open.