Tokyo Olympics: public sentiment towards Games shifts even as state of emergency extended
- Japanese athletes have been racking up gold medals, including several firsts. With 15 gold medals so far, the country is close to matching its record haul
- Rising tide of positivity could be stalled by the decision to extend a state of emergency in Tokyo and expand the measure to four more regions
However, a rising tide of positivity could be stalled by the decision to extend a state of emergency in Tokyo and expand the measure to four more regions due to a record surge in infections.
Nationwide virus cases topped 10,000 for the first time on Thursday, and a string of government officials and health experts have warned that the more contagious Delta variant is fuelling a dangerous surge.
Japan’s virus outbreak has been comparatively small, with around 15,000 deaths and no harsh lockdown measures, but only around a quarter of the population is fully vaccinated. Organisers on Friday reported 27 new cases related to the event – the highest daily figure yet.
The measures largely restrict the sale of alcohol in bars and restaurants and shortens their opening hours, and there are questions about whether it will be sufficient.
“The highly infectious Delta variant is rapidly taking over and if the increase in infected people does not come down, we could see the number of people in serious condition rise and hospitals overwhelmed,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga warned.
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Japanese athletes have been racking up gold medals, including several firsts. With 15 gold medals so far, the country is one off its record haul from 2004.
While some athletes have dropped out after testing positive, Olympics-tied cases have remained relatively contained for now, with no events being called off so far.
“People accept that this is the reality” now that the games have gone ahead, said Kazuto Suzuki, a professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo. People are now starting to think they should try and enjoy it and see the games finish, he said.
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Positive posts began to close the gap with negative ones last Wednesday as the competition opened with women’s softball, and eclipsed them the next day as Friday’s opening ceremony approached, according to the Nikkei newspaper.
In the days following the opening ceremony, favourable comments far outpaced unfavourable ones.
While tweets with keywords like “cancellation” grew after the opening ceremony began, they were largely drowned out by more favourable language related to the opening festivities, according to the Sankei newspaper.
Posts supporting athletes also began to increase as Japan secured a large number of medals, with a first gold in table tennis on Monday among the successes.
Broadcaster Nippon TV and JX Press Corp. also found positive tweets of all posts it analysed rose after the ceremony, to around 40 per cent from 30 per cent previously, though negative posts still outweighs favourable ones amid rising coronavirus cases in Tokyo.
In the absence of more concrete polling, however, the shift on social media may not necessarily reflect most Japan’s population is now content the Games are being held.
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“You can be happy for skateboarders getting their golds, you can be interested in sports and tweeting about sports, and still think it wasn’t a good idea,” said Rochelle Kopp of Japan Intercultural Consulting. “You can have both those feelings at the same time.”
With the Games in motion and the unlikelihood of it being called off, there is much less value in social media users tweeting about cancellations now, Kopp said.
“If I had to say, I was one of the people who was worried about the Olympics,” he said. “But once they began I actually thought how sad I might be if we didn’t have it.”
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
