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Tokyo Trail: key issues surrounding the 2020 Olympics

Our Tokyo Trail series looks at key issues surrounding the 2020 Olympics, which are scheduled for late July.

Updated: 22 Jul, 2021
The cauldron is seen lit on the first day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic torch relay in Naraha, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan. Photo: AP<img src="https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/660x385/public/d8/images/2021/05/16/dpa_20210514204730.jpg?itok=ctgY50Fm" width="660" height="385" alt="" data-style-type="default"  data-writer="Staff"  class="image-660x385 caption" data-insert-type="image" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="insert-660x385-9d8096ed-0f78-412f-82b6-a7f82d03c1e0" />
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[1]

From robots to self-driving cars, Olympics will showcase Japan’s tech prowess

Drone-based technology is being used for security surveillance, with authorities also prepared for cyberattacks. Malware known as the “Olympic Destroyer” infected systems at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

22 Jul, 2021
The Olympics is a chance for Japan to showcase cutting-edge robotics, automation and computing. Photo: Reuters
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[4]

Covid-19 cases rise despite Games pledge of 85 per cent vaccination rate

More than a dozen Olympic-related positive tests have been recorded in Tokyo since visitors started arriving for the 2020 Games, including a first case at the Athletes Village.

18 Jul, 2021
A tourist ship cruises past the Olympic Village buildings in Tokyo, where the first Covid-19 case was detected on Saturday. Photo: EPA
[11]

As young people tune out, can Olympics vault over a generation gap?

The IOC is worried about the ageing television audience for the Games, as well as the legacy of Olympism – its promotion of sports as a key to a balanced lifestyle and harmonious development.

19 Jun, 2021
The Olympics has a young-people problem. Illustration: Joe Lo
[12]

Analysis | Tokyo 2020 Games are the first ‘gender equal’ Olympics, or so they say

Organisers claim there will be a record number of women competing at the Olympics in Tokyo this year, but academics question if enough progress has been made by the Olympic movement.

12 Jun, 2021
The IOC has trumpeted Tokyo 2020 as the first ‘gender balanced’ Olympic Games.  Illustration: Joe Lo
[14]
[15]

Businesses count cost as Japan’s Olympics tourism boom turns to bust

Tokyo’s target of 40 million foreign tourists in 2020 obviously didn’t materialise, with international travellers unlikely to return in any large numbers until next year at the earliest.

29 May, 2021
Japan’s tourism-reliant businesses that invested heavily on the promise of an Olympics-inspired boom have been left counting the cost. Image: SCMP
[16]

Analysis | Growing dismay as IOC tells athletes ‘go to Tokyo at your own risk’

The IOC Playbook – a blueprint for Covid-19 safety measures during the Olympics – has a clause that absolves organisers of any responsibility should an athlete test positive.

22 May, 2021
Athletes will be inside a bubble during the Tokyo Olympics even as the Covid-19 pandemic rages on in Japan. Illustration: Joe Lo
[17]

Carrie Lam’s Olympics TV deal: a bid to reignite Hong Kong’s patriotism?

As Hong Kong snaps up the broadcast rights to the Tokyo Games, observers wonder if what it really seeks is a national pride pick-me-up from a bygone time when most Hongkongers identified as Chinese.

16 May, 2021
Children in Hong Kong show their support for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch relay. Photo: SCMP Pictures
[19]

Why Tokyo thinks its Olympics show must go on – even as Covid-19 booms

Pressure is mounting on Yoshihide Suga and the IOC to cancel the Games as Covid-19 infections soar in the Japanese capital, but the message from organisers is clear: these Games are happening.

15 May, 2021
Opposition to the Tokyo Games is becoming more fervent in the host nation as protesters hold up signs while marching in front of Tokyo’s National Stadium. Photo: DPA