Rally Against Tokyo Games Staged Near City Hall During Olympic Torch Relay

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd July, 2021) Opponents of the Olympics have staged a rally near the Tokyo city hall, where the final leg of the Olympic torch relay took place, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Friday.

"The government must allocate this money for fighting the coronavirus, not for the Olympics. We do not need these games," a protester told Sputnik.

Demonstrators held banners with slogans in English in order to make their demands comprehensible for foreign journalists who came to cover the relay. One of the protesters had a poster with the Olympic rings crossed out and the slogan "Global crime against Japan.

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Since June, Tokyo has been witnessing a spike in COVID-19 cases. Earlier in July, the authorities declared a state of emergency in the capital.

The severe epidemiological situation caused concerns among Japanese people that the Games would trigger an explosive rise in infections. According to a survey published by the NHK broadcaster earlier in July, 30% of Japanese believe the Olympics should be canceled.

The Tokyo Olympic Games will open on Friday. Around 19,000 athletes will take part in the competitions, which will include 33 disciplines, the biggest in the history of the games.