Tokyo Olympics ... [no foreign fans] [no fans period]

[Atticus]

“In Japan, the atmosphere is very important. And we have an atmosphere that the vaccines are very dangerous, risky, and you don’t want to touch them,” said Kentaro Iwata, an infectious-disease expert at Kobe University. “Unless you change this atmosphere into a positive atmosphere that the vaccine is good for your health, people will be very hesitant to come to the clinic,” he added.

Making it even more difficult to get this enough under control to stage the OG this summer.

There's still a small window of opportunity here to right the ship, but it's listing badly!

[Conor Dary]

Meanwhile..


Tokyo Olympics chief says women talk too much at meetings, calls it ‘annoying’


Mori, who served as Japan’s prime minister for a little more than a year in 2000 and 2001, has a history of offensive remarks. In January 2000, he recalled his first election campaign in 1969 with a joke about AIDS.

“When I was greeting farmers from my car, they all went into their homes. I felt like I had AIDS,” he said.

Later that year, Mori also insulted Americans while talking about their preparedness for the Y2K bug.

“When there is a blackout, the murderers always come out. It’s that type of society,” he said.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...xist-comments/

[Conor Dary]

Making it even more difficult to get this enough under control to stage the OG this summer.

There's still a small window of opportunity here to right the ship, but it's listing badly!

Whatever the prevailing view among politicians, some athletes and advertisers appear to be having second thoughts. Unconvinced by official assurances, Japan’s Olympic sponsors have scaled back advertising campaigns and delayed marketing events. Firms including Canon and Japan Airlines are concerned that organisers have not shared contingency plans for a cancellation.

“We’re asking ourselves, ‘Are we really going to do this?’” one unnamed sponsor told Reuters, adding that even raising the possibility of a plan B had been discouraged by organisers.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...U-_3EfAy7uFFKE

[Atticus]

even raising the possibility of a plan B had been discouraged by organisers.

I thought they said a long while ago that there WAS a Plan B: cancellation, i.e., not postponement, not partial, not spread out . . . nothing.

[TN1965]

No cheering, no bars, less intimacy to ensure safe Olympics

Ground rules for thousands of Olympic and Paralympic officials to ensure safe travel, daily life and competitions at the Tokyo Games during the coronavirus pandemic were published Wednesday.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/no-cheeri...153800560.html

[Atticus]

No cheering, no bars, less intimacy to ensure safe Olympics
Ground rules for thousands of Olympic and Paralympic officials to ensure safe travel, daily life and competitions at the Tokyo Games during the coronavirus pandemic were published Wednesday

Whatever it takes!
This is the last shot we have.

[Conor Dary]

Yeah I'm sure this will do it....

Japan to ban cheering at Covid-era Olympics



ROBIN HARDING — TOKYO

Constant testing for Covid-19, 14 days of restricted movement and a ban on cheering await participants at the Tokyo Olympics under a “playbook” set out by organisers to enable the gamestogoahead.

It is increasingly unlikely that overseas spectators will be able to attend the games, which were postponed from 2020 to this summer, and a decision is expected in the next two months.


Japan extended a Covid-19 state of emergency in big cities for another month on Tuesday but the government of Yoshihide Suga has pledged that the games will go ahead.

New cases of the virus have fallen from about 6,000 a day in January to about 3,000 but the medical system remains under pressure and vaccinations have not begun.

[DrJay]

Meanwhile..


Tokyo Olympics chief says women talk too much at meetings, calls it ‘annoying’

That was mentioned in passing on NBC news this evening. Mrs. DrJay, who sits through a gazillion corporate meetings (all on Zoom the last year):"It's true! F#&k, they won't shut up!"

[Atticus]

Mrs. DrJay, who sits through a gazillion corporate meetings (all on Zoom the last year):"It's true! F#&k, they won't shut up!"

SHE can say that . . . you or I, not so much!

[jazzcyclist]

That was mentioned in passing on NBC news this evening. Mrs. DrJay, who sits through a gazillion corporate meetings (all on Zoom the last year):"It's true! F#&k, they won't shut up!"

I like her sense of humor. 🤣🤣🤣

[NotDutra5]

That was mentioned in passing on NBC news this evening. Mrs. DrJay, who sits through a gazillion corporate meetings (all on Zoom the last year):"It's true! F#&k, they won't shut up!"

My wife backs her up.....and I can vouch for that in having to listen to her yell "can we move on" while wondering or maybe hoping she has the mute button on.

[gh]

it's time to change direction on this thread (and that's not a suggestion)

[Conor Dary]

Doubts Loom Over Tokyo Olympics Without Vaccine, Isolation Rules

Covid-19 countermeasures unveiled by the organizers of the delayed Tokyo Olympics don’t include mandatory vaccinations or quarantines for those arriving in Japan for the Games, fueling doubts on whether they can go ahead this summer as planned.

With thousands of people from around the globe set to descend on Tokyo, where the pandemic still isn’t under control, citizens remain nervous. Just 16% of Japanese say the event should be held as planned this summer. The country declared a state of emergency last month, seeking to reduce infections and pave the way for the Olympics, which were postponed last year.

“A 14-day quarantine period is needed to be certain that you haven’t developed an infection that you could spread to others,” said Norio Sugaya, a visiting professor at Keio University’s School of Medicine in Tokyo and a member of a World Health Organization panel advising on the pandemic. “There is a risk that the infections will spread within the Olympic Village, and they may spread to the country as well. Now is not the time to discuss large-sized face-to-face events.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ybook-unveiled

[Conor Dary]

Olympics chief refuses to quit over sexism




The president of the Tokyo Olympics has refused to resign after igniting a storm of criticism by saying that women do not belong on committees because they talk too much.
Yoshiro Mori, the 83-year-old former prime minister and president of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, made the remarks at a meeting of the Japan Olympic Committee on Wednesday.

The sexism issue marks another setback for Tokyo 2020, which has been postponed by a year because of Covid-19 and is still under threat from the prevalence of the virus around the world.

At a querulous press conference, he apologised and sought to retract the comments but said he had no intention of stepping down.

“My comments yesterday were inappropriate and against the Olympic spirit,” said Mr Mori.
However, pushed about whether he would resign to take responsibility, he said: “I’ve dedicated myself to this for seven years. I have no doubts about what I should do.”

Mr Mori, who was prime minister for a year from 2000-01, has a long history of committing gaffes and making chauvinist remarks, including attacks on women who did not have children and athletes who failed to sing the national anthem loudly enough.

[Conor Dary]

Pandemic breaks Olympic spell as public sours on hosting event

Professor Yuji Nakamura was caught completely off-guard by his students’ sea change in attitude toward the Tokyo Olympics.

Just months ago, some of them had enthusiastically volunteered as helpers for the postponed 2020 Summer Games.

But at a mock news conference on Jan. 4, when the Utsunomiya University students were acting as Olympic organizing officials, they were all in agreement: “We have made the decision to cancel the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

It’s not just young people who have soured on the Tokyo Games. Even those who can recall the “magic” of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics say the spell has worn off for this year’s rescheduled event.

Olympic fever has died down so much among the pandemic-weary public that anti-Olympic protesters in Tokyo who were once vilified as unpatriotic are now receiving words of encouragement.

http://www.asahi.com/sp/ajw/articles/14142773