More than 352,000 people signed an online petition titled Cancel the Tokyo Olympics to protect our livesIt was launched in early May by Kenji Utsunomiya, a lawyer and former candidate for governor of Tokyo.

The rapid speed with which signatures are collected on Change.org in Japan Reflects public opinionHe told reporters that polls conducted since last year showed that 60 to 70% of residents are against holding the Games this summer.

This time the question is, what are we prioritizing life or an event called the Olympiad?, Which is an order m. Utsunomiya.

Through the petition, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike called for urging the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to cancel the Games.

The IOC has the right to decide whether or not to cancel the Games, but Tokyo, as the host city, should urge the IOC to cancel the Games.

These activists have e-mailed their petition to the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and they will then mail messages to international bodies while they plan to present the same text to the Japanese government and the Tokyo Games Organizing Committee.

The Japanese Hospital Doctors Association this week also ruled it was It’s impossible to hold safe games during a pandemic.

Many famous Japanese athletes, such as tennis champion Naomi Osaka or golfer Hideki Matsuyama, have expressed reservations in recent days about the viability of the Olympics in the midst of a pandemic.

The extended state of emergency

Japan also extended the state of emergency on Friday, which already affects six prefectures, including Tokyo, to three additional departments, just 10 weeks before the opening ceremony.

We have decided to add the provinces of Hokkaido, Okayama and Hiroshima to those already in the state of emergency. Until May 31, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced.

In these three sections, The population is relatively large and the number of COVID-19 cases is increasing rapidly, he added.

The Japanese state of emergency has been activated for the third time in the country in just over a year, as the Japanese state of emergency provides for less stringent restrictions than the strict lockdowns applied elsewhere in the world.

It consists above all in restricting the activity of some physical businesses, in particular imposing the temporary closure of bars and restaurants serving alcoholic beverages, under penalty of a fine. Some shops and cinemas have also been closed.

Yoshihide Suga at a press conference on health measures

Photo: Getty Images / Pool

Another set of measures, less than the state of emergency, will also be extended to 10 provinces, compared to 8 so far, out of 47 in the country.

Japan is relatively spared the epidemic overall, recording just over 11,000 official deaths since early 2020, but medical experts warn that the hospital system is under great strain.

One of the aggravating factors is that the vaccination campaign is advancing very slowly compared to other industrialized countries. To date, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been approved in the country and just over 1% of the population has been vaccinated.

Even so, the Tokyo Olympics organizers continue to ensure that it can happen In all safety Thanks to strict health protocols and vaccination of a large number of participants. They also highlight the recent success of pilot events in the Japanese capital.

And the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday renewed that Focuses entirely on the final stage of implementation Of games, though Speculation And opposition is clear majority of the Japanese, according to opinion polls.