As the Olympic Ceremonies kicked off at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on Friday, several hundred people gathered in the streets to protest the holding of the Games during the pandemic.
Several hundred people are gathered near Olympic Stadium in Tokyo to protest holding the Games during the pandemic. The stadium is quiet enough that they are audible during the ceremony. https://t.co/5gtlk6YROhhttps://t.co/7TBSguuOFB— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 23, 2021
Several hundred people are gathered near Olympic Stadium in Tokyo to protest holding the Games during the pandemic. The stadium is quiet enough that they are audible during the ceremony. https://t.co/5gtlk6YROhhttps://t.co/7TBSguuOFB
At times, the stadium – void of fans – was quiet enough that the protestors could be heard during the ceremony.
The Olympics have continued to push forward despite Japanese opposition reaching an all-time high in May. An Asahi Shimbun survey showed that 83 percent of those polled believed that the Tokyo Olympics should be postponed or canceled.
In June, 10,000 of the 80,000 unpaid volunteers dropped out ahead of the event’s start.
Then, in early July with roughly two weeks until the Games, Japan declared a fourth state of emergency for the host city and subsequently banned all spectators from the Olympics.