TOKYO, Jan 19 (NNN-NHK) – The Japanese Diet opened yesterday with Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, vowing to go ahead with preparations to hold the Tokyo Olympics this summer, in the face of growing public opposition amid a surge in COVID-19 infections.
In his first policy speech at the Diet’s regular session since taking office last Sept, Suga outlined his policy agenda and stressed his determination to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We will press ahead with preparations, with determination of building watertight anti-infection measures and holding an event that can bring hope and courage to the world,” Suga said of the Olympics.
Rumours ran wild recently that the Tokyo Olympic Games would be postponed to 2032, immediately causing a stir among athletes, who had planned to compete at the showpiece event in less than 200 days.
Both the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Tokyo 2020 organising committee, had moved swiftly to deny such accusations, dismissing all the reports concerning the cancellation of the Games as “fake news.”
As for the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, Suga vowed to tackle surging infection cases and restore normal life.
“To protect the lives and health of the Japanese people… I will get the situation back to normal, as soon as possible,” he said.
Suga declared a state of emergency over the pandemic in Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures, in a bid to stem a resurgence and expanded it to cover seven more prefectures, including Osaka and Aichi, last week.
“What is important is to provide necessary medical services to people in need. We will exhaust all measures to safeguard the medical system,” he said.
According to latest data, as of Sunday, the number of hospitalised patients with serious symptoms topped 970, to mark a record high in the country, while the number of patients recuperating at home exceeded the 30,000 mark this week.
As Suga delivered the policy speech, a poll by Japan’s Yomiuri, showed yesterday that his approval rating has declined further, due to the public’s dissatisfaction with his handling of the pandemic.
According to the poll, support for Suga’s Cabinet slid to 39 percent from 45 percent last month, with the disapproval rating rising six points to 49 percent, meaning that, about half of the people in the country are now disapproving his government.
The poll also showed 78 percent of the public in favour of expanding the state of emergency over the COVID-19 outbreak, beyond the current 11 prefectures, of which 42 percent say it should be expanded nationwide.– NNN-NHK
