Olympics sponsors are calling for the Tokyo Games to be delayed to allow more spectators

Some of the biggest Japanese sponsors at the Tokyo Olympics want organizers to postpone the Games for several months so that more spectators can attend.

The proposal has been made privately in recent weeks, according to people who are aware of the situation. After growing frustration with demand, it became one of 47 Japanese companies that collectively paid more than $ 3 billion to protect games. most protected a sporting event in history.

“I don’t think this proposal will have a big impact on the organizers because they are completely determined starting July 24th, ”Said a senior official of a corporate sponsor.

“But from our point of view it makes a lot more sense when there are more people vaccinated for the Games, when the weather is cooler and maybe when the public opposition is lower.”

The prevalence of Covid-19 and the slow spread of vaccines have frustrated people, as polls show that 80 percent of Japanese people want to cancel or postpone the Olympics.

Number of people who have received at least one vaccine shooting In Japan, it has exceeded 14% or 14 million of the population.

In April, the Japanese Olympic Committee told sponsors that it would not be taken until the last minute to decide whether to allow spectators to watch the events live, possibly until June 24.

Many companies ran major marketing campaigns around ticket gifts and promotions. Banks, intermediaries, insurance companies and other large industrial sponsors planned to use the events for corporate entertainment.

The two people who attended the meeting said some companies had decided that the money earmarked for Olympic sponsorship was “worthless,” but that the delay would allow some values ​​to be regained if they allowed for greater movement of spectators and venues.

Suggestions for a last-minute delay until the end of September or October were made when preparations for the Games entered the final 50 days.

A senior sponsor of a sponsor said the suggestion to delay was a practical benefit. He said the company would not commit more money to the project but would consider paying an additional sponsorship fee if the Olympics were to be held later in the year.

“If the games started a few months later, it would include a much larger part of the country, there would be less uncertainty and we would certainly consider putting more money into it as a sponsor,” he said.

Shigeru Omi, the doctor who led Japan’s response to Covid in Japan, added that an internal debate had arisen within his company with an incident he said this week was “not normal” in the current environment.

Another head of a Japanese company that backed Tokyo’s bid for the Games said: “Japan should make every effort to be able to do so at the scheduled time of the Olympics and the government should speed up the spread of vaccines. But a two- to three-month delay B plan should also be prepared.” .

The Tokyo 2020 organizing committee did not immediately respond to the request for comment.

The companies are very divided to find out if the country should host the Olympics. SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son and Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO of Rakut’s e-commerce team, are among the loudest opponents.

But even among the sponsors, the companies have positioned themselves in an uncomfortable position with strong public opposition, making it difficult for them to promote the event.

Akio Toyoda, Toyota’s world-sponsored director of the Olympic Games, expressed frustration with the slow progress of controlling Covid-19 in Japan on Thursday.

“The state of emergency is serious. . . that requires crisis management, “Toyoda said.” The reality is that we are still in a time of anxiety and grief. “

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