hankyoreh

Demonstrators are protesting against the Olympics in Tokyo on Sunday, holding signs reading, “the Olympics kill the poor.” (EPA/Yonhap News)

The debate over the Tokyo Olympics is heating up. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Japanese government want to push ahead with the Olympics, but there’s strong opposition from the Japanese public. More than 80 percent of Japanese say the Olympics shouldn’t be held this summer.

Adding to the chaotic mix was the recent US decision to warn citizens against traveling to Japan.

The biggest issue is that Japan hasn’t managed to bring the COVID-19 outbreak there under control. In recent weeks, Japan has reported a daily average of 4,000 new cases of COVID-19. That’s about 40 times the number of cases seen when Japan decided to delay the Tokyo Olympics last year.

At the end of March, when Japan reached that decision, about a hundred people were testing positive for COVID-19 every day.

There are economic and political reasons that Japan is forging ahead with the Olympics regardless of those issues. If the Olympics fall through, the IOC and the Japanese government will face huge financial costs, including penalties for breaking contracts for broadcasting rights.

A columnist for the Washington Post dubbed IOC President Thomas Bach “Baron von Ripper-off,” arguing that Bach is trying to force Japan to shoulder the burden so that the IOC can cut its losses.

Calling off the Olympics would also have serious political consequences for the Japanese government. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe insisted on bidding for the Tokyo Olympics for political purposes despite doubts about radioactivity following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Since winning the bid in 2013, the Japanese government has publicly described the Olympics as a chance to revitalize the country after the devastating Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

Can the Tokyo Olympics even be held at this point? It’s too soon to say.

But whether or not the games are held, the debate has revealed the tawdry truth behind the Olympics. The Olympics have devolved from the noble pursuit of peace and amity to a mega event designed to enrich global corporations and political parties.

It’s a truth that everyone suspected, but it was shrouded behind the heroic travails of our athletes. But now, it’s been laid bare by the unique circumstances of a global pandemic.

What path will the Olympics take going forward? There’s a good chance that the games’ economic and political aims will gradually grow more conspicuous.

There are already calls in the US House of Representatives to boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022. That’s essentially part of the hegemonic struggle between the US and China.

Americans point to Chinese human rights issues, but that’s just a fig leaf. The US hasn’t said a word about Israel, which is bombing the Palestinians, or Myanmar, where the military junta is slaughtering its citizens, taking part in the Olympics.

“The pandemic was a spark that ignited conflicts that already existed in our society. That’s an extremely dangerous mix of issues, but there’s also potential for massive liberation. Fundamental change is needed to preserve the world as we know it,” philosopher Slavoj Zizek said in an interview with the Hankyoreh last year.

I think the same logic should be applied to the Olympics. Now more than ever, we need a return to the spirit of the Olympics — and that would begin with asking hard questions about whether the Olympics should be held this year, while putting the priority on human life.

By Lee Jun-hee, staff reporter

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