Japan Declares State of Emergency, Banning Spectators from Olympics

by mcardinal

Justin Bullock, FISM News

 

The controversy surrounding the 2021 Tokyo Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan continues as the country has declared another state of emergency and banned spectators from the Olympics. Japan recently just lifted a state of emergency due to the pandemic as the number of new COVID-19 cases had significantly dropped. This brought hope that the delayed 2021 Olympics would have a relatively normal festivities, but due to a significant rise in new COVID-19 cases Japan was forced to re-instate the state of emergency as well as ban spectators.

The Japanese government’s decision does not come as a surprise, as it had warned that they would reinstate an emergency declaration and ban spectators, if necessary, when they lifted the last state of emergency. The decision is disappointing for Olympic fans, Olympic athletes’ families, and the athletes themselves. However, Japan itself will likely be most negatively impacted by the ban, as no spectators means no tourism.

They 2021 Olympics are already shaping up to be one of the most expensive Olympics on record. Japan has expressed concerns regarding its ability to pay for the Olympics. In fact, over 80% of Japanese citizens wanted to cancel the Olympics outright due to the impact of the pandemic as well as the exorbitant cost. Now, without tourists to provide crucial revenues that will go to help pay for the Olympics, it seems that Japan will have to face a hefty bill without promise of any major recompense.

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