Japanese mostly opposed to Tokyo Olympics this summer – poll

February 8, 2021 - 2:38 PM
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Giant Olympic rings are seen at the waterfront area at Odaiba Marine Park in Tokyo, Japan, March 25, 2020, after the announcement of the Games' postponement to 2021, due to outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). (Reuters/Issei Kato/File Photo)

TOKYO — A majority of Japanese remain opposed to holding the Olympics this summer amid the coronavirus pandemic but the ratio lowered significantly from recent polls, a Yomiuri newspaper poll showed on Monday.

Some 28% of respondents said they want the Olympics to be cancelled and the same ratio of people think they should be held without spectators, the poll showed.

The Yomiuri poll showed a combined 61% wanting the Games to be postponed or cancelled altogether, around 20% points lower than recent opinion polls.

Just 36% of the public are in favor of holding the Tokyo Olympics this summer, of which 28% are calling for no spectators while the remaining 8% back allowing spectators.

The Tokyo Olympic Games were postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and rescheduled to take place this year starting on July 23.

Some 56% expected the coronavirus pandemic to remain unchanged in the summer, while 37% anticipated improvement and 3% saw it getting worse. Some 70% believed the vaccination would help resolve the situation, outweighing those who saw no containment. —Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Lincoln Feast.