Japan needs to consider scrapping the Tokyo Olympics and speeding up its vaccine rollout amid growing virus infections, according to former Finance Minister Jun Azumi.
"We’re at a point in time when we should seriously consider a cancellation or postponement,” said Azumi, parliamentary affairs chief of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan in an interview Monday. He added that recent polls showed 70% of the public are against holding the Tokyo Games.
With virus cases increasing, the government’s first priority should be to speed up its vaccine drive. To do that, it should cut the red tape that limits the number of people who can give vaccine jabs and distribute doses more efficiently within Japan, he added.