So the Olympics are barreling ahead. But why?
Start with billions of dollars at stake, a contract that overwhelmingly favors the IOC, and a decision by the Japanese government to stay the course, which might help Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga keep his job.
These factors have overridden scathing criticism from medical bodies that fear the Olympics may spread COVID-19 variants, and a call for cancellation from Asahi Shimbun, a games’ sponsor, and the country’s second-largest selling newspaper. The United States Department of State has issued a Level-4 “Do not travel” warning for Japan with Tokyo and other areas under a state of emergency that expires on June 20.
TORONTO — Canadian lawyer and long-standing IOC member Dick Pound says if there was a drop-dead date for cancelling or postponing the Tokyo Olympics, that day has passed. Pound reiterated a comment . . .
Lori Ewing
Workers paste the overlay on the wall of the National Stadium, where opening ceremony and many other events are scheduled for the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Wednesday, June 2, 2021, in Tokyo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Eugene Hoshiko June 02, 2021 - 9:43 AM
TORONTO - Canadian lawyer and long-standing IOC member Dick Pound says if there was a drop-dead date for cancelling or postponing the Tokyo Olympics, that day has passed.
Pound reiterated a comment he first made to the Evening Standard in an interview with The Canadian Press. Barring some Armageddon, of which nobody is aware, there s no indication of (cancellation). We are a go, he said.