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Letter to the Financial Times...
Japan’s Olympic gamble is an unacceptable risk
After the second world war, the Japanese constitution was redrafted to say that we, the Japanese people, “have determined to preserve our security and existence, trusting in the justice and faith of the peace-loving peoples of the world”. As a creed, it sounds very nice. But as a system of national governance, it is a fairy tale, one that works in peacetime and fails in an emergency.
In the past, the US has protected Japan as its ally. Yet in Japan, many assume that it is the constitution, not the US, that has shielded the country. Covid-19 has laid bare the reality that neither the US nor the constitution can protect Japan in a global crisis. The government has had to fend for itself.
Now, after one year of delay, the government has chosen to go ahead with the Olympic Games, under big pressure from the International Olympic Committee, though over 70 per cent of Japanese people are against them going ahead (Report, June 19). With the failures of border control, the vaccination campaign, and not setting enough restrictions for lockdowns, the people have lost faith in the government response to Covid-19. As of June 10, only 5 per cent of the population of Japan had received two vaccine doses. Japan needs to implement a period of national isolation by placing strict control on its borders, not host a big Olympic Games. It is an unacceptable gamble. Unfortunately, it appears that the Japanese government is incapable of making the sensible call.
Toshisada Yamanaka
Chief Executive Officer, Gladstone Corp Tokyo, Japan
Japan’s Olympic gamble is an unacceptable risk
After the second world war, the Japanese constitution was redrafted to say that we, the Japanese people, “have determined to preserve our security and existence, trusting in the justice and faith of the peace-loving peoples of the world”. As a creed, it sounds very nice. But as a system of national governance, it is a fairy tale, one that works in peacetime and fails in an emergency.
In the past, the US has protected Japan as its ally. Yet in Japan, many assume that it is the constitution, not the US, that has shielded the country. Covid-19 has laid bare the reality that neither the US nor the constitution can protect Japan in a global crisis. The government has had to fend for itself.
Now, after one year of delay, the government has chosen to go ahead with the Olympic Games, under big pressure from the International Olympic Committee, though over 70 per cent of Japanese people are against them going ahead (Report, June 19). With the failures of border control, the vaccination campaign, and not setting enough restrictions for lockdowns, the people have lost faith in the government response to Covid-19. As of June 10, only 5 per cent of the population of Japan had received two vaccine doses. Japan needs to implement a period of national isolation by placing strict control on its borders, not host a big Olympic Games. It is an unacceptable gamble. Unfortunately, it appears that the Japanese government is incapable of making the sensible call.
Toshisada Yamanaka
Chief Executive Officer, Gladstone Corp Tokyo, Japan
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