May 25, 2021
For any country, hosting the Olympics is a major deal, both politically and economically. Yet, in a world ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, going ahead with the Tokyo Games is starting to look like a dangerous gamble on both counts.
Ominously, a growing number of investors in Japanese stocks now believe that canceling the games is better for the market, intensifying the pressure on Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who is already facing stiff public opposition to the global showcase event.
The potential political damage to Suga, and resulting uncertainty, from staging the games ahead of an election that must be held by October is making investors nervous, according to several fund managers and traders.