The world needs the Tokyo Olympics. They can and should go forward safely. - The Washington Post

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Pressure is growing for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to again postpone this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo. The games should go on as scheduled, and the world should chip in to help ensure the Japanese people stay safe as they do.

The covid-19 pandemic has already forced the Games to be postponed once, from last summer to this July. Olympic leaders had thought that would give Japan enough time to prepare, but the country is experiencing yet another wave of infections. While mild by comparison to the pain endured by other countries, it is serious enough for Japan to have imposed a state of emergency in Tokyo and other major metropolitan areas. This, in turn, has led the Japanese to express opposition to the Games being held on time. Polls show up to as many as 83 percent of Japanese want them canceled or postponed.

Organizers of the Games say that they can be safely held despite the surge in infections. Fans from other countries will not be permitted to enter the country, significantly reducing the risk to Japanese citizens. Athletes and their official entourages will be limited to the official residences and only allowed to travel between those residences and the training or competition venues. Presumably, they will also be subject to the sort of rigorous testing and isolation regimes that virtually all sporting competitions have implemented since they resumed last summer. These provisions, perhaps supplemented by limiting the number of Japanese fans allowed to watch the events, should suffice to prevent the international celebration from turning into a superspreader event.

The Games should continue because the world needs an example that life can be normal again. The Summer Olympics are virtually the only event that truly unites the globe in friendship. An estimated 3.6 billion people, nearly half of the world’s population, watched the 2016 Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro. Athletes from 87 countries won medals at those games, giving joy to citizens from small and low-income countries. The burst of global confidence that can arise from a successful Olympics is incalculable.

Of course, safety should be paramount. Success under the circumstances means that neither the visiting teams nor the Japanese people are subjected to increased risk of catching the virus. If the world wants the burst of psychic energy the Games could provide, it should step up now to ensure that happens.

First of all, this means dramatically increasing the rate of vaccination among the Japanese. Japan’s vaccination program is well behind other nations, with only 5.6 percent of the population having received at least one dose of the vaccine. Vaccination efforts have picked up significantly in the past week, with more than half a million Japanese now receiving their first doses each day. Even that is insufficient, however, because there are only 59 days left before the opening ceremonies. At the current rate, only 36.5 million people, less than 30 percent of the country’s population, will have received at least one dose before the Games begin. That number should rise significantly, possibly with the United States steering some of its 80 million excess doses to Japan as fast as it can.

The comparatively low rate of vaccination is especially problematic because Japan has one of the world’s oldest populations. Japan’s official statistics estimates that 29 percent of the country, or about 36.3 million people, is 65 years of age or older. If current vaccination rates persist, it is theoretically possible to partially vaccinate the highly vulnerable people, but only at the expense of almost everyone else in the country. That’s neither fair nor prudent, and nations with vaccine surpluses must work to dramatically expand vaccine access.

Countries should also donate spare medical equipment and even send mobile hospital beds to Japan. The United States, for example, could send two of its floating hospital ships to Tokyo and keep them there for weeks after the Games close as a precautionary measure. The United States and other countries could also reassure the Japanese by preparing plans to quickly send vaccinated and experienced medical personnel to the country if necessary.

The world needs a ray of sunshine after the darkness of the past year. The Land of the Rising Sun is the perfect country to provide it. The world should work with the Japanese government to make sure we get the ode to joy we all need.

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The world needs the Tokyo Olympics. They can and should go forward safely. - The Washington Post
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