Amidst the spike in Covid-19 cases in Japan, demands for postponing the upcoming Tokyo Olympics has swiftly gathered momentum as now on Friday, a petition to cancel the showpiece event has been submitted to the city’s governor on Friday.
The petition, which received more than 3.5 lakh signatures, was titled as “prioritise life”.
Earlier in May, an online petition titled “Cancel the Tokyo Olympics to protect our lives” was launched by Kenji Utsunomiya, a lawyer and former candidate for Tokyo governo. Later, as the move gathered signatures faster than any previous petition on Change.org’s platform in Japan, Utsunomiya termed the development as “reflects public opinion” on the issue.
“I think the Olympics this time is about whether we prioritise life or a ceremony and event called the Olympics,” Utsunomiya told reporters.
He urged the Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike to ask the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to cancel the Games.
“The IOC holds the right to make a decision on whether to cancel, but Tokyo, as the host city, should urge the IOC to cancel,” he said.
The petition is also being sent to the IOC and International Paralympic Committee as well as local organisers and the national government.