Tokyo: Just hours before the Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony several protesters have gathered outside the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building on Friday demanding cancellation of the Games. The protesters gathered as the Olympic torch arrived at the complex.
“Today is the day of the opening ceremony of the Olympics and we strongly call for its cancellation. So it is a protest against the Olympics. Now the Olympic flame is coming to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, so now we are protesting here,” a protestor was quoted as saying to India Today.
“After that, we will protest together at Harajuku station and then a demonstration near the Olympic stadium. The police is highly regulated around the stadium so the demonstration has to be far from it. We are trying to get close to the stadium and keep up the protest,” she further said.
The Tokyo Olympics has been subject to several protests around the country demanding the Games to be cancelled due to high risks of COVID-19 infection. However, the Tokyo 2020 organisers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reiterated that the Olympics will go ahead as scheduled.
Meanwhile, India has started their Tokyo Olympics campaign with archery on Friday morning. World No.1 Deepika Kumari finished ninth in the qualification round in the women’s individual recurve event while the men’s trio of Atanu Das, Tarundeep Rai and Pravin Jadav finished below 30th in the men’s individual recurve event on the day.
However, Tokyo will be under a state of emergency throughout the hosting of the Games. So far, 67 COVID-19 positive cases have been reported among those accredited for the Games since July 1.
