Japan expands virus emergency as 350,000 sign petition to cancel Olympics

Several Olympic test events are taking place in Tokyo, including skateboarding

More than 351,000 people have signed a petition calling for the Tokyo Games to be cancelled

Japan expanded a coronavirus state of emergency Friday, just 10 weeks before the Olympics, as campaigners submitted a petition with more than 350,000 signatures calling for the Games to be scrapped.

With Tokyo and other areas already under emergency orders until the end of May, three more regions -- including northern Hokkaido, which will host the Olympic marathon -- now join them.

In these regions, "the population is relatively big and the number of new cases is very rapidly increasing", he said.

Kenji Utsunomiya, a former candidate for Tokyo governor, urged Games organisers to "prioritise life" as he submitted the 351,000-signature petition to city authorities.

The petition is also being sent to the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee, as well as local organisers and the national government.

Thursday saw a doctors' union warn it was "impossible" to hold the Games safely during the pandemic, but organisers say virus countermeasures will keep the athletes and Japanese public safe.

"We have to create a firm bubble and take the necessary restrictions to avoid putting strain on the medical system," she told reporters.

"There are restrictions on behaviour. For those who violate the rules, we're discussing measures including deportation," he said.

In an interview with AFP, International Paralympic Committee chief Andrew Parsons acknowledged Japanese "anger" over the Games.

"We want to provide this feeling of certainty," Parsons said. 

In recent days, organisers have held a string of successful test events, including with international athletes, which they say shows their protocols will work.

"The world does need to keep moving," Coe wrote in the Daily Mail.

In Japan, however, one of the country's most prominent businessmen, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, said he is "afraid" of the Games going ahead. 

"Not just Japan, but many countries they're having still a big, tough situation, I don't know how they can support sending athletes."

Utsunomiya said his petition would continue to gather signatures "until the cancellation is announced", and brushed aside the cost of scrapping the massive event.

bur-sah/kaf/oho

...