Toyota won’t advertise for the Games in Japan, while more and more athletes test positive for the virus as Tokyo cases rise.
As detractors warned, the pandemic is roiling the Olympic Games in Tokyo before they are slated to begin at the end of the week. Tokyo is in a state of emergency and recording its highest daily numbers of new COVID-19 infections in six months. Though spectators have been barred from the rescheduled 2020 Summer Games, many in Japan have opposed the country’s decision to proceed with the Olympics, as have public-health experts across the globe. On Tuesday, Toshiro Muto, the head of the Olympics organizing committee, did not rule out the possibility of canceling the event altogether. “We can’t predict what will happen with the number of coronavirus cases,” he said. So we will continue discussions if there is a spike in cases.” On Monday, the country’s largest automaker, Toyota, announced that it will not run any television ads in Japan related to the Olympics and that company executives will not attend this week’s opening ceremony — a clear attempt to distance itself from the increasingly controversial event. The same day, news broke that an alternate on the U.S. women’s gymnastics team had tested positive for COVID-19 just four days before the Games are set to begin. On Monday, U.S. officials said the gymnast tested positive on Sunday while training in Narita, which is about 35 miles east of Tokyo. The gymnast and another alternate on the team are now quarantining, NBC News reports. “Out of respect for the individual’s privacy, we cannot provide more information at this time,” the U.
