IOC invokes Olympic peace – protests against games

The Olympic Games would be a “beacon of hope for a better and more peaceful future,” said Bach. But his words could not hide the fact that many Japanese are frustrated with how the IOC is going through with the Games despite the corona pandemic and widespread rejection among the people. More than 70 people signed an online petition against his visit to Hiroshima.

The fact that the games are being held despite the pandemic is a “disregard for people’s health and lives and shows that the games are not a “festival of peace,” it says. A citizens' group had accused Bach of abusing Hiroshima's role as an ambassador for world peace and called on the government to cancel the visit. IOC counters criticism of politicization Bach, who was accompanied by Japan's head of organization Seiko Hashimoto, defended his visit, for which there was a similar cordon on site as during the Pope's visit in 2019. In the distance, isolated voices could be heard saying that Bach was “not welcome”.

“We have nothing to do with politics, we will not politicize this visit,” Bach assured before his departure. With his visit, he wanted to honor the first day of the Olympic Peace and build on a 3000-year-old tradition, said the German IOC boss. At the same time, the head of the IOC Coordination Commission, John Coates, traveled to Nagasaki in southern Japan and visited the atomic bomb museum and the Peace Memorial Hall there. The countdown to the Olympic Games is on. © APA/afp / YUKI IWAMURA

The games open on July 23rd. However, a majority of Japanese consider the Corona measures to be inadequate for the tens of thousands of participants. In a survey by the Jiji Press news agency, 66,7 percent of respondents said the protective measures were “not sufficient”. Only 12,7 percent find it sufficient. Population health is a priority Meanwhile, Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga reiterated that he wanted to implement "safe" games. “In order to protect the life and health of the population, thorough measures will be taken against the spread of the coronavirus,” Suga assured a meeting of members of his government responsible for the Olympics.

In an interview with the Japanese news agency Kyodo, Suga expressed his hope that the corona situation would improve enough that spectators could still be allowed at the games. Canceling the games was never considered an option. Previously, according to Kyodo, IOC boss Bach said at a meeting with Suga that Japan should allow spectators if the corona situation improved. Tokyo will again be in a state of emergency for the entire duration of the games as corona infections are rising significantly again.

On Friday, the country's capital reported 1271 new infections within 24 hours, marking more than 1000 cases for the third day in a row. The day before, 1308 new infections were registered, more than in six months. Many Japanese fear that the games will become a superspreader event.

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IOC invokes Olympic peace – protests against games

IOC President Thomas Bach calls for solidarity in the world in Hiroshima, but the Olympic peace is not undisturbed a week before the start of the Corona Games in Japan. There is great frustration among the Japanese population about holding the games despite the pandemic.

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