Japan recently announced that they will not cancel the games despite the rise of COVID cases within the nation. In March, 2011, Japan was hit by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake , triggering tsunamis, and one the most horrific nuclear disasters in human history. They lost over 20,000 lives, and the nation suffered. Later in the same year, the IOC announced that the 2020 Olympics will be held in Tokyo. This was the moment of relief they were anticipating. With excitement and expectations from the Games as a way to reform their situation, they started investing their resources to prepare for the prosperous olympics. However, unexpectedly, COVID, a global pandemic, struck Japan on January 16, 2020. Reluctantly, Japan had to postpone the games till July 2021 to protect the public and the athletes from this virus. As the date draws closer to the new date of the Olympics, Japan, as well as the IOC officially announced that they will continue the games without any further delays. This has sparked outrage amongst the people. 70% of the Japanese population disagree with this continuation of the games as they are concerned about the dangers of the pandemic. Even though many people are worried, and truly believe that the hosting city has the right to cancel the upcoming Games, there are many implications that stop Japan from cancelling the Olympics.
The first implication that is forcing Japan to continue the games is the contractual agreement between Japan and the IOC. There is one article in the contract saying only the IOC has the right to cancel the games, not Japan. It also states that the only reason an Olympic game can be cancelled is when something could threaten or jeopardize the participants seriously. Even though the pandemic seems to be as dangerous as it killed nearly 4 million people, they are still continuing with the games.
The second implication is the expenses. Japan invested a lot of their money into stadiums, tourism management, etc for their preparation for the games. However, since COVID hit Japan, they postponed the games. Sponsors, IOC, and the local organizing committee all have insurance. If they cancel the games, then they wouldn’t get all the money back, but the insurance would cover some of their financial investments. "It's probably safe to say that if the Tokyo Olympics is cancelled, it would probably be the biggest insurance pay-out event of its kind, there's no question about that," Prof Anderson said.. As a result, Japan would lose a lot of money, and it would be harmful for Japan’s economy.
In conclusion, Japan’s cancellation of the games is obvious, but there are reasons why they are not cancelling it. The contract is blocking them from cancelling, and there could be financial consequences. Some people think that Japan is suspicious since the contract says that the games have to be cancelled when something could be dangerous for participants or the audience. They consider COVID to be a reason for cancellation since it is threatening to health but Japan and the IOC aren’t classifying COVID as a threat. Even though many people think Japan should cancel the games, it isn’t possible as there are strict implications, which forces them not to do so. Despite all these negative consequences and criticism, it seems like Japan is going to continue the games.
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