Tokyo 2021 Olympic Risks By Myriam Lynch | Illustrations by Felisha Wang | Layout by Alyssa Merwise When the Olympic Games were created around 3000 years ago in Greece, their purpose was to celebrate and honor the gods. However, when the Olympics were revived in 1892 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin and the first modern games were held in Athens in 1896, their purpose shifted. Under the direction of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Games became an opportunity for countries to compete amicably through sports. The five interlocking circles of the official flag, with each circle representing one of the five continents, depicts a world united by a shared value of athleticism. Politics have never completely taken a back seat at the Olympics, however. The highly sought privilege of hosting the games is often the result of a geopolitical calculus that only the IOC understands. Those kinds of calculations are more than ever at the fore of the next Summer Olympics, to be held in Tokyo in July 2021. One year behind schedule, the Tokyo Games hope to be remembered as the first Games to be held successfully and safely in the midst of a global pandemic. A year ago, it seemed impossible for Japan or any country to host the Olympic Games, even though Japan was already nearing the finish line in its preparations. When I visited Tokyo, in January 2020, construction sites and billboards with the Olympic flag were a constant reminder of the upcoming summer games. In fact, Japan waited as long as it possibly could - precisely two days before the Olympic torch was set to leave Fukushima on its way to Tokyo - to announce the Games’ cancellation. Covid-19 seemed to have the entire world in its iron grip, and even the Olympics would not resist. One year later, Japan is insisting on holding the Games, even though the country has a low vaccination rate and has only recently recovered from the latest Covid-19 state of emergency declared in January. The world may be watching the progression of the Olympic torch across Japan with anticipation, but the potential health risks of hosting the Olympics in a pandemic are in themselves significant enough to warrant the Games’ cancellation. Hosting the Olympics during a pandemic poses health risks that cannot be underestimated. One
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expert cited by Conde Nast called the decision to press forward with the Games a “matter of life and death” and argued that, notwithstanding the years of training and sacrifices athletes make to compete in the Olympics once every four years, the Games are “not an essential service to the world.” Athletes themselves have voiced
concerns about the IOC’s announced health protocols. While teams will only be able to arrive at their accommodations in the Olympic Village five days before their competition and must leave within 48 hours of the end of competition, vaccinations are not required for athletes. Amid fears that new strains of the virus may be brought by teams from around the world, the possibility of another wave is particularly worrying for those living around the sprawling complex, in central Tokyo. Although until now Japan has dealt with the pandemic better than many other countries, with an estimated 496,000 total cases, as of April 2020, only 1% of the Japanese population has been vaccinated. This slow rollout is the result of both cautious policy—Japan has only approved the Pfizer vaccine for use—and a wary population. According to a poll conducted in January of 2021 by the Tokyo Broadcasting System, 80% of people in Japan believe the Olympics should/will be canceled or postponed. As great as the health risks are, the economic and political consequences of cancelling the Games weigh on the minds of the country’s leaders. The global economic crisis caused by the pandemic has hit Japan particularly hard. According to the BBC, Japan’s economy shrank by 4.8% in 2020, the first time Japan’s economy has contracted since 2009. Moreover, the slow Covid-19 vaccine rollout in the country (0.46 doses per 100 people as of March 23, according to Our World in Data), may negatively
