Majority of Japanese public do not believe in safe Olympics

The majority of the Japanese public do not believe the assurances of Olympics organizers that the Olympic Games will be safe, according to a survey published Monday.

Some 68 per cent of around 1,500 people surveyed over the phone said that safe Olympics during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic were not possible, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported.

Only 21 per cent said it was possible. Some 55 per cent are against the Games taking place at all, while 33 per cent were in favour.

Two South African footballers and a member of their team tested positive for the virus at the Olympic Village in Tokyo at the weekend, marking the first coronavirus cases there.

"All the concerned people were immediately isolated and in this way they do not pose any risk to other participants or the Japanese population," International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach told a press conference at teh weekend.

The Tokyo area is under a fourth coronavirus state of emergency for the duration of the Olympics.

The infection figures in Tokyo have recently reached their highest levels in six months.