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A group consisting of novelists, a composer, journalists, scholars, and a diplomat are asking IOC, JOC, the government of Japan and the governor of Tokyo to cancel the Tokyo Olympics. The list of group members is provided at the end of the text.

Within less than a week of the campaign in Japanese, more than 100,000 people signed the petitions and  it has been widely reported by the various national media.

The dangers of hosting the Tokyo Olympics are becoming increasingly apparent. We urgently call on the organizers of the Olympics to face up to the situation and cancel the event

Please sign our petition to the Prime Minister of Japan, the IOC, the JOC and the Governor of Tokyo. The opening date of the Olympic Games  is now approaching. Since last year's decision to postpone the Games, we have been waiting for the Japanese government and the Olympic organizers to give a convincing explanation to the public on how they will deliver on their slogan of "safety and security". Unfortunately, no such explanation has been given and, on the contrary, various flaws in the infection prevention system have been revealed. In addition, the number of people infected with Covid-19 is now increasing in the metropolitan area, as is the proportion of the highly infectious Delta strain. It does not seem to be possible to vaccinate a sufficient number of people before the opening of the Games. A year ago, we had no idea that the Olympic Games would take place with such a low vaccination rate in our country. Our fears are rapidly growing and our anger is deepening. 

We are angry at the absurdity of forcing the Olympics to be held, with the potential to create countless Covid19 clusters, while seeking to curtail our daily lives, and at the senselessness to have our children watch the games at the stadiums while asking the schools to cancel their own sports events. 

Demonstrations and petitions calling for the cancellation of the Games have been held in many places, and rightly so.

　Despite the fact that the conditions surrounding the Games have not improved at all since the decision was made a year ago, the IOC and the Japanese government seem to have no interest in listening to the public concern. 

We believe that the health and lives of the Japanese people and the people of the world must be protected, and we appeal once again to the government to do so. We call on the government to cancel the Tokyo Olympics, which is a historic outrage.

　　It is not only Japanese citizens who are worried. People all over the world are worried. This is because repeated infections lead to new strains of the disease spreading around the world. Prime Minister Suga says that the Olympics will be "safe and secure", but the world is not convinced. Japan is about to make a mess which will affect the world. This concern is being reported by the various foreign media. 

　In order to prevent the spread of infection, extremely detailed measures need to be taken in terms of quarantine, travel, stadium arrangements, living in the athletes' villages and host towns, securing hospital rooms, among others.

It has already been reported that six overseas athletes have actually tested positive for the disease after the entry to Japan. It's enough to make you wonder what will happen when nearly 100,000 international athletes and Olympic officials arrive in the country. It seems almost impossible to prevent this from becoming a "super-spreader event". “The bubble system” is a figment of fantasy.

　　We are running out of time and are making an impassioned plea. We ask you to make a decision to stop this outrage before it is too late.

The members:   Mutsuko Asakura (professor emeritus at Waseda University), Yutaka Iimura (former Ambassador to France), Chizuko Ueno (sociologist, professor emeritus at University of Tokyo), Tatsuru Uchida (philosopher),  Mari Osawa (professor emeritus at University of Tokyo), Keiko Ochiai (novelist), Shigeaki Saegusa (composer), Manabu Sato (professor emeritus at University of Tokyo), Hisae Sawachi (non-fiction writer), Yuko Tanaka (former president of Hosei University), Daisuke Tsuda (Journalist), Mikio Haruna (journalist), Keiko Higuchi (critic), Noriyuki Fukano (writer)

Supported by:  Genichiro Takahashi (novelist), Toshifumi Hinata (composer), Mari Miura (political scientist)