OLYMPIC GAMES - The gesture is more symbolic than dangerous, but it is causing quite a stir in Japan. On Sunday 4 July, as the Olympic flame passed through the prefecture of Ibaraki, in the centre of the island of Honshū, a woman tried to extinguish it with a water pistol, as shown in our video at the top of the article.
She immediately justified this move by saying that she was opposed to the holding of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (postponed by one year, from 23 July to 7 August), while Japan is one of the richest countries lagging furthest behind when it comes to vaccination against covid-19.
Kayoko Takahashi, 53, an unemployed woman, was stopped after her gesture when she shouted: "I'm against the Olympic Games. Stop the Olympics". As the daily newspaper of record points out Asahi ShinbunThe authorities fear that the 50-year-old may have thrown a liquid other than water in the direction of the flame.
Like her, many Japanese people deplore the fact that the event is being held against the backdrop of a health crisis that is far from under control. At present, while part of Japan is living under extremely strict health restrictions, particularly Tokyo, which is in a virtual state of emergency, the contagiousness of the Delta variant and the resurgence in the number of cases are indeed worrying the population.
The Olympic Torch Relay in the streets of Tokyo, for example, will have to take place partly behind closed doors and has even been banned elsewhere in the country, but the sporting events should go ahead as normal, although the question of the public has not yet been settled. Although a maximum capacity of 10,000 people at each Olympic venue (within the limit of 50% of the venue's maximum capacity) has been decreed for the time being, the health situation could lead to this being revised downwards, or even to the Games being held without an audience.
Although Japan has been relatively spared by covid-19, with fewer than 15,000 deaths officially recorded since the beginning of 2020, its medical system has been severely tested. Above all, the vaccination campaign is taking a long time to get under way, with doses arriving in dribs and drabs, and only 10% of the population has already been fully vaccinated.
On Sunday, the Olympic torch relay in Ibaraki prefecture got off to a good start when it was led by Zico, a former Brazilian football star who became an icon in Japan by finishing his career there before coaching some of the biggest clubs and the national team.
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