Tokyo in a state of emergency less than 200 days before the Olympic Games | The State

The Japanese capital and site of the Olympic Games, Tokyo suffers a hard record increase in daily numbers of COVID-19 infections, a situation that has led the authorities of the country of the rising sun to take more restrictive measures and declare the city in a state of emergency.

The Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, assured this Thursday that the country will host the Tokyo Olympics next summer in a “stable and safe” manner.. The Japanese leader noted that the hosts and the International Olympic Committee “will continue working” to organize the Games “without fail” and within schedule.

This measure, which will be in force until February 7 Initially, it entails restrictions on the opening hours of bars and restaurants and the recommendation of teleworking, among other restrictions that do not include the confinement of the population.

Suga also expressed his confidence that the start of vaccination campaigns in different countries and in Japan, where the drug is not expected to begin distribution until the end of February, it will “change the atmosphere in the Japanese people” ahead of the Games.

Popular support for the Games among the Japanese declined during the last months of last year mainly due to the incessant spread of the coronavirus in the country, according to different surveys released by local media.

A query carried out by the public television channel NHK showed that 32% of those surveyed were in favor of canceling the Games permanently, while 31% were in favor of postponing them again and 27% agreed to keep the date.

The Tokyo Games are scheduled between July 23 and August 8, after being delayed for a year last March due to the pandemic.