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

[TN1965]

Olympics: Athletes' association seeks comprehensive COVID-19 plan ahead of Games

The World Players Association (WPA) on Friday called for a comprehensive and fully funded COVID-19 protection plan as opposed to mere statements from the organisers to safeguard the health of athletes at this year's Tokyo Olympics.

https://sports.yahoo.com/olympics-at...124916164.html

[Conor Dary]

EU approves coronavirus vaccine exports to Japan for first time

Pfizer has concluded a contract with Japan to supply vaccine doses for around 72 million people in the country by the end of the year. Amid the brewing global vaccine battle, however, countries are facing the challenge of securing a stable supply of vaccines.

The health ministry said last week it is considering offering group vaccinations to people age under 65 at their workplaces, in addition to vaccinations carried out by municipalities.

Vaccine minister Taro Kono has said vaccinations for older people will not begin before April, while the exact schedule for the general public has not been announced.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...an-first-time/

[Conor Dary]

Meanwhile....

Japanese leader Suga tried to soften his image with talk of pancakes and sit-ups. Polls say it hasn’t worked.

“Suga has demonstrated poor political skills, zero empathy and is a woeful communicator,” said Jeff Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University Japan. “His chances of remaining PM are fading fast.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...524_story.html

[Conor Dary]

Nearly 60% of people in Japan believe Tokyo Olympic chief Yoshiro Mori, who has come under fire for recent sexist remarks, is "not qualified" to serve in the top post, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday.

The weekend telephone survey showed that only 6.8% of respondents said Mori is "qualified" to be head of the Tokyo Olympic Organising Committee.

Asked whether Mori, who has drawn criticism for saying that women talk too much during meetings, is qualified for his role, 59.9% said he is not, while 32.8% answered they are unable to say whether he is qualified or not.

The survey also found that 47.1% think this summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics should be postponed again due to the coronavirus pandemic, while 35.2% believe the games should be canceled and just 14.5% say the event should be held as planned.


https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...ympics-survey/

[Conor Dary]

Financial Times.....

Tokyo Olympics chief ’s moment of national sexist shame

Yuriko Koike, the first female governor of Tokyo, described the comments as a “major issue” for the Olympics. A day after, Mori made a qualified apology and referred to his wife’s peevishness. He later suggested to a TV interviewer that he chiefly felt obliged to say sorry because of all the foreign attention he had provoked. Mori thus does not appear to have recanted his beliefs; he just regrets speaking the credo aloud. He has also rejected calls to resign, thereby intensifying the difficulty that politicians and corporate sponsors encounter when condemning such sexism while acknowledging that an unreconstructed supremo remains in charge.

Where domestic media have shown vehemence in their criticism, it appears fuelled by the sense that this was the last straw in an Olympics that has been eyewateringly costly, is strongly opposed by the Japanese public, and, as a sports event, may anyway be irreparably diminished by the pandemic. The sense of disconnect between public outrage and the government’s understanding of it was highlighted when the matter was discussed on Thursday in parliament. “I am unfamiliar with the details of the remarks,” said Prime Minister Yoshi-hide Suga to opposition party jeers.

[Atticus]

A glimmer of venal hope from home-page-linked article

"It made sense to postpone the Games last year, but cancelling the Games outright is completely out of the question for the Olympic movement," said Michael Naraine, an assistant professor with Brock University's department of sport management who studies major games and the Olympic movement.
"I would hazard to say the biggest reason why they would never get cancelled is because of the money that's on the table."

[Conor Dary]

From the IOC point....sure..... what have they got to lose....spectators or not...they just want their TV money....

Naraine said cancelling an Olympics could in the future diminish the significant revenues the IOC generates from television contracts and sponsorships.

"It would massively impact the brand," he said. "The value of the Olympic brand would be devalued to the point where sponsors will not be willing to pay the price points that they are currently paying.

But in Japan where as noted elsewhere would lose billions anyways without spectators its a different story....

A recent survey also showed around 80 per cent of the Japanese population believes the Games should be cancelled or rescheduled again.

Naraine believes some members of the Japanese government have reservations about hosting the Games.

"I do believe that the Japanese domestic political situation is working in the back room to say, 'you know what folks, this probably isn't the best idea that we host the world for a two-week party,'" he said. "But I don't think they have any say in the matter.

[Conor Dary]

Meanwhile....Mori seems to be the linchpin at this point....even though he doesn't seem very popular....

Some 390 Olympic and Paralympic volunteers have decided to give up their roles in the wake of sexist remarks by Tokyo Games organizing committee chief Yoshiro Mori, the committee said Monday.

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2...g0KXu5KxnQRZQ4


FOCUS: With Olympics at stake, Mori seen as too influential to push aside

With the critical period for the hosting of games lying ahead -- the torch relay starting in March, along with decisions on having spectators and foreign fans in attendance -- a games source said the comments were "not good" but doubted whether anyone could fill Mori's role.

"If he resigns, there'll be no Olympics. We need him to continue whatever the cost," a government source said.


https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2...ush-aside.html

[Conor Dary]

Financial Times....

Tokyo’s Topix closes at highest level since 1991

LEO LEWIS — TOKYO

Other observers said that, while the Topix’s breaking of the 1,900 mark was a moment to relish, it did not appear supported by fundamentals.

One of the big investment themes of recent years has been a surge in tourist arrivals to Japan. Despite organisers’ insistence that the Olympic Games will be held this year, precautions related to the pandemic mean they are likely to do so with a minimal influx of visitors from overseas and only a modest impact on consumer spending.

[Atticus]

C'mon, Japanese vaccine rollout!
That seems to be key now.
If they can't get big numbers vaxxed fast, the OG are toast.
If they can, there's still hope.

[TN1965]

So I read this interesting interview of Dai Tamesue on the Olympics. Here are some of the highlights.

-- In his three (Sydney, Athens and Beijing) Olympics, he never attended the opening ceremony.
-- He did attend the closing ceremony, but does not remember anything.
-- He got out of the Athletes Village only once for a reason other than the competition or training. (Visited the Great Walls in Beijing.)
-- Live spectators could boost the athlete performance, but they are not essential.
-- As an athlete, he always wanted all the best athletes to be in the field, even if that meant he would finish lower in the standings.
-- It does not really matter in the big scheme of the things whether some "marginal" athletes are participating or not, although it means a lot to individual athletes. (And he counted himself as one of the "marginal athletes" even though he was twice the world medalist. His goal at the Olympics was to make the final.)

Of course, this is just one retired athlete's opinion. Other athletes (either current or retired) might have different takes.

[Conor Dary]

Meanwhile....

Specialized syringe shortage means Japan has millions fewer doses than it thought


A shortage of specialized syringes in Japan could mean millions fewer people will receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as the government prepares to roll out its long-awaited immunization campaign.


Such a setback could have serious implications for Japan’s plans to host the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer.

“The syringes used in Japan can only draw five doses. We will use all the syringes we have that can draw six doses, but it will, of course, not be enough as more shots are administered,” Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said Tuesday, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported.

The government has not yet approved the injection for use in Japan but says it will begin inoculating some health workers next week. After assessing the vaccine’s safety, officials will expand the program to include more health workers in March.


The rollout won’t be available to the general population until later in April, government officials have said.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...ve-updates-us/

[Conor Dary]

C'mon, Japanese vaccine rollout!
That seems to be key now.
If they can't get big numbers vaxxed fast, the OG are toast.
If they can, there's still hope.

Japan will begin by inoculating 10,000 to 20,000 frontline health workers, whose condition will be closely monitored for any side effects, followed by another 3.7 million health workers from mid-March.

The rollout for 36 million people aged 65 and over is not expected to begin until early April.

Just over 8 million people with pre-existing health conditions and 7.5 million aged 60-64 will also be given priority. The general population – people aged 16 to 59 – won’t begin receiving their jabs until around July, when Tokyo plans to host the postponed summer Olympics.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...wrong-syringes

[Atticus]

“The syringes used in Japan can only draw five doses

I'm missing something there. Certainly they're not trying to inject 5 people from one syringe!

The rollout for 36 million people aged 65 and over is not expected to begin until early April.

OK, we're officially EFFED. That MUST be too late a start to pull off the OG safely.

[gh]

I'm missing something there. Certainly they're not trying to inject 5 people from one syringe!

...

this is NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, but my take on the low-dead space syringes is this: in a normal syringe (making numbers up), to get 5ml of injectable fluid you need to put 6ml into the tube; the "extra" ml stays in the tube on disposal. With a low-dead space syringe you load 5 and use 5, the extra ml remaining in the original vial. Do taht 5 times and you've got one more dose.