Petition To Cancel Tokyo Olympics 2020 Gets Close To 400,000 Signatures; Emergency Extends In Japan

On Wednesday, Japan reported 5,818 new cases of Covid-19, sending its total cases so far above 700,000. The number of severely ill patients in Japan rose by 58 from Wednesday to a record 1,293, according to the health ministry. New deaths on the day totaled 97 cases.

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Tokyo: Around 400,000 Japanese citizens have signed a petition to cancel the Tokyo Olympics due to the rising cases of Covid-19 in Japan. Japanese lawyer Kenji Utsunomiya, who has also run for the governor election started this petition.

On Wednesday, Japan reported 5,818 new cases of Covid-19, sending its total cases so far above 700,000. The number of severely ill patients in Japan rose by 58 from Wednesday to a record 1,293, according to the health ministry. New deaths on the day totaled 97 cases.

Japan has been under a state of emergency since April 26 2021. The Olympics is supposed to begin on July 23. Despite opposition from various corners of Japanese society, the organizers have decided to go ahead with the tournament. French President, Emanuel Macron is said to come to Tokyo for the inauguration of the games. Meanwhile, international news agency Reuters did a survey which showed that 70% of the Japanese respondents want the Tokyo Olympics to be postponed further. 

The Olympics were set to take place in 2020 but were rescheduled to July 2021. The Olympics organization committee is facing heat from common Japanese people and also some Japanese celebrities. CEO of the E-Commerce company, Rakuten Hiroshi Mikitani said that hosting Olympics this year is a "suicide mission" and he is trying to convince the government against it.

Naomi Osaka also 'not sure' about playing in Olympics

"I would feel, of course, definitely a bit sad, but at the end of the day, it's an honor to play in the Olympics in the first place and if that's what keeps people healthy, then I'm up for [playing behind closed doors]," Osaka said to BBC.

The four-time grand slam winner said, "I'm an athlete, and of course my immediate thought is that I want to play in the Olympics," she said.