Over half of Japanese firms oppose holding Olympics in 2021

More than half of Japanese companies believe the Tokyo Olympics, originally planned for this summer but postponed for a year due to the novel coronavirus, should be cancelled or put off again.

Of some 13,000 companies that responded to the poll by Tokyo Shoko Research, 27.8 percent said the sporting event should be cancelled, while 25.8 percent saw another postponement as desirable.

Japan lifted in late May a state of emergency imposed to stop the coronavirus, as it recorded fewer infections, but cases started to increase again in July.

"With the end of the spread of infection nowhere in sight, companies are divided into for and against holding the event in 2021," the research group said in a report, published on Thursday.

Of the companies surveyed, 22.5 percent believed the Tokyo Olympics should be held as planned while 18.4 percent said they ought to be held with fewer spectators and 5.3 percent said they should be held with no spectators.

The poll was conducted over the Internet between late July and early August.

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Economic impact of Olympics 

Japan is heavily invested in the Olympics and is spending officially $12.6 billion, though a government audit says the number is twice that large.

Japan and Tokyo have suffered moderately from the pandemic, but new cases have been rising steadily in the last several weeks, particularly in urban areas.

Japan has reported about 1,100 deaths attributed to Covid-19.

The Japanese economy has also been hit hard by the pandemic. The government reported this week that exports plunged 19.2 percent in July from a year earlier.

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