Japan hit by succession crisis as advisory panel rules out allowing women to take the throne dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Emperor s Tokyo Olympic opening declaration mirrors divided public Sorry, but your browser needs Javascript to use this site. If you re not sure how to activate it, please refer to this site: https://www.enable-javascript.com/
Emperor Naruhito waves during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics at the National Stadium in the capital on Friday. | REUTERS
KYODO Jul 25, 2021
The conspicuous absence of the word “celebrating” in the Japanese version of Emperor Naruhito’s opening declaration for the Tokyo Olympics reflects a public deeply divided over whether the Games should be going ahead amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Postponed a year by the global outbreak of COVID-19, the Olympics officially began Friday with a spectatorless ceremony at the 68,000-capacity National Stadium.
From CNN s Alyssa Kraus and George Ramsay
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics kicked off Friday with the Opening Ceremony almost a year to the day from their intended start date in July 2020.
In March 2020, the International Olympic Committee agreed to postpone the Games until 2021 due to concerns over Covid-19. The event was originally set to begin on July 24, 2020 and end on Aug. 9, 2020. The IOC president and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Games . must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community, a statement from the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee read.
Protesters and fans gather in Tokyo as Olympic torch relay reaches final leg
From CNN s Emi Jozuka, Blake Essig and Daishi Kusunoki in Tokyo
Anti-Olympics protesters gathered in Tokyo ahead of Friday s opening ceremony. Emiko Jozuka/CNN
Anti-Games protesters and Olympics fans gathered Friday in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building as the Olympic torch reached its final destination ahead of the opening ceremony on Friday.
Dozens of protesters held “no Olympics anywhere” signs, chanted “get out IOC” and banged on tambourines, demanding the Games be called off amid a heavy police presence.
“I came here today because I still don’t think it’s too late for the Olympics to be canceled,” said Namaeshi, an anti-Olympics protester. “We are concerned about the Covid-19 cases increasing in Tokyo.”
Naomi Osaka lights the Olympic cauldron cnn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cnn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.