TOKYO: Hundreds of anti-Olympics activists gathered near the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo to express their opposition to the games even during the closing ceremony attended by Japan’s crown prince, prime minister and IOC president.
The protesters flocked to the stadium even before the ceremony began at 8 p.m. They also approached the nearby Japan Olympic Committee building holding placards demanding the cancellation of Japan’s Olympics.
Anti-riot police were dispatched to the area to keep the demonstrators at bay.
Some demonstrators blamed the Olympics for the recent surge of coronavirus cases in Japan and Tokyo, with numbers surpassing the 10,000 per day mark. Some Tokyo hospitals have announced that they are at maximum capacity due to critical COVID-19 cases.
However, the Japanese government, IOC and some experts have said that there was “no evidence” that the Olympics led to the surge.
Buses taking the athletes and Olympic teams to the closing ceremony passed the streets near the stadium through cheers and protests.
