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		</div><p>The contentious issue of the billions being spent on the postponed Tokyo Olympics has entered the debate in the race for governor of Japan’s capital.</p>
<p>Incumbent Yuriko Koike is a strong favourite to be reelected, and a strong supporter of the Olympics, in a field of more than a dozen candidates.</p>
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<p>The campaign officially opened on Thursday.</p>
<p>Taro Yamamoto is a popular actor, turned politician who has entered the fray.</p>
<p>He said in a debate this week that the Olympics should be called off and the billions redirected to help people struggling with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.</p>
<figure id="attachment_157462" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-157462" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-full wp-image-157462" src="https://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/58AD29E2-19DA-4CC9-B3AC-5BB4FB940BF2.jpeg" alt="" width="600" height="400" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-157462" class="wp-caption-text">A man jogs past the Olympic rings in Tokyo</figcaption></figure>
<p>“The Olympics should be cancelled,” Mr Yamamoto told Ms Koike.</p>
<p>“There is no guarantee to hold the games safely in Tokyo, and we don’t have a vaccine yet” for Covid-19.</p>
<p>Mr Yamamoto and others have warned about bringing in 11,000 Olympic athletes from 200 nations and territories, 4,400 Paralympians, and thousands more staff, technical officials, broadcasters and journalists.</p>
<p>Add to this fans, if they are allowed, who have bought more than four million tickets, up to 80,000 volunteers, and questions about the need for quarantines.</p>
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<p>“Tokyo will turn into a petri dish by having so many people coming from around the world,” Mr Yamamoto said.</p>
<p>“We should notify the International Olympic Committee that Tokyo cannot hold the event safely.”</p>
<figure id="attachment_157463" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-157463" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-full wp-image-157463" src="https://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/05CA4D31-B431-45B5-A41A-BC7D45A58569.jpeg" alt="" width="600" height="400" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-157463" class="wp-caption-text">Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike</figcaption></figure>
<p>Another candidate, well-respected lawyer Kenji Utsunomiya, also supports calling off the Olympics based on the judgment of infectious disease experts.</p>
<p>Two other candidates have proposed a two- to four-year postponement.</p>
<p>Ms Koike, the International Olympic Committee, and local organisers say they are trying to scale back, downsize, and simplify the Tokyo Games, which have already been pushed back by 12 months.</p>
<p>They have revealed no specifics so far, with hints about cutting back the opening and closing ceremonies, or the torch relay.</p>
<p>More questions than answers remain.</p>
<p>Officials have said the events and athlete quotas will not be touched, and there is no talk of cancellation, with the Olympics set to open on July 23 2021.</p>
<p>Soaring bills are an issue.</p>
<p>Estimates in Japan say the one-year postponement will cost two to six billion US dollars.</p>
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<p>Ms Koike has declined to give an official estimate, as have the IOC and the local organising committee.</p>
<p>They say it is too early to know, but Japan will bear most of the costs.</p>
<p>“We must gain the understanding of the residents of Tokyo and citizens,” Ms Koike said, referring to costs and the budget, in a separate interview.</p>
<p>Overall, Tokyo says it is spending 12.6 billion US dollars to organise the Olympics, although a government audit last year said it was twice that much.</p>
<p>All but 5.6 billion US dollars is public money.</p>
<p>Tokyo estimated the Olympics could cost 7.3 billion US dollars when the city was awarded the games in 2013.</p>
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<p>“While many children and athletes are earnestly looking forward to the Olympics, we must keep the coronavirus under control, and the question is if a vaccine will be ready by then. It’s a race against time,” Ms Koike said.</p>
<p>Ms Koike, like the IOC, is betting the Olympics can be framed as a victory celebration over the pandemic, and the public will forget the tax bill.</p>
<p>“There are many issues to be resolved,” Ms Koike said.</p>
<p>“But when we have a major global goal and share it, and when it becomes a proof of victory in our fight against the coronavirus, what a meaningful event it will be.”</p>
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