With the Olympics approaching, the Tokyo Olympics began to enter a state of emergency By Reuters

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TOKYO (Reuters)-Due to concerns about whether these measures will prevent the increase in COVID-19 cases, Tokyo, the host city of the Olympics, entered a new state of emergency on Monday, with less than two weeks before the opening of the Olympics.

Organizers announced last week that spectators will be barred from entering almost all venues. Audiences from abroad were banned a few months ago, and officials are now asking residents to watch the Olympics on television to minimize the movement of people who may spread infectious diseases.

Opinion polls have always shown that the Japanese public is worried about hosting the Olympics during the pandemic.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s handling of the pandemic-including the initial slow rollout of vaccination-has weakened his support. This issue is particularly sensitive before the national elections and the ruling party leaders’ elections to be held later this year.

“We will ask people to support athletes at home,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu said on Sunday’s TV show.

The Olympics, which were postponed from last year due to the pandemic, lasted from July 23 to August 8, and the state of emergency — the fourth in the capital — lasted until August 22, shortly before the start of the Paralympics.

The government and organizers have long viewed the Olympics as an opportunity to show Japan’s recovery from the devastating earthquake and nuclear crisis in 2011.

On Saturday, the governor of Fukushima Prefecture, where the nuclear disaster occurred, said that softball and baseball games there would also be banned, which changed the previous decision.

Rising Tokyo infections

The world’s number one tennis player Novak Djokovic said on Sunday that his attitude towards participating in the Tokyo Olympics was “50-50” after the organizers decided to ban fans from participating and limit his participation in the Olympics.

Some of the biggest names in this sport, including Rafa Nadal, Dominique Tim, Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kilgis, Serena Williams and Simone Halep, have Said that they will be absent from the Olympic Games.

Japan has recorded more than 815,440 COVID-19 cases and nearly 15,000 deaths.

The recent rise in Tokyo is particularly worrying because of the slow start of vaccination and supply failures after the acceleration. Only about 28% of the population has been vaccinated against COVID-19 at least once.

Tokyo recorded 502 new cases on Sunday, which is the 23rd consecutive day of weekly growth. Experts worry that the public is tired of restrictions on activities, mostly voluntary.

Coronavirus containment measures include requiring restaurants to close early and stop serving alcohol in exchange for government subsidies. These measures have dealt a heavy blow to restaurants and caused many people to complain about unfairness as the Olympics are about to take place.

Economics Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is also responsible for responding to the pandemic, suggested on Thursday night that he would ask banks to put pressure on restaurants that did not comply with stricter measures, which aroused people’s anger.

The top government spokesman Kato suddenly stated on Friday that he has decided not to ask banks to pressure restaurants and bars that do not comply with government requirements to stop serving alcoholic beverages under emergency restrictions.

On Monday, “anyone other than the Liberal Democratic Party or Komeito” became popular on Twitter, referring to parties other than the Liberal Democratic Party or its junior coalition partner Komeito in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

An angry Twitter user said: “I am not a restaurant owner, but despite having a year to prepare for the Olympics, a government that is still unable to propose effective anti-coronavirus measures…not good.”