The Tokyo Olympic Games are reaching the point of no return.
With seven weeks until the opening ceremony, the Japanese government, the International Olympic Committee and major stakeholders are gambling political reputations and billions of dollars on staging a games that could lift global spirits and show how we could begin a return to normality. Or, in the worst case, create a superspreader event that savages Japan’s tottering economic recovery and blights the image of the world’s biggest sporting showcase.
Mired in controversy since the coronavirus outbreak caused it to be delayed in early 2020, the games has become a weather vane for opinion on how governments and populations should beat the virus.