Japan:Majority of businesses say Tokyo Olympic should be cancelled or postponed

Over half of Japanese firms believe the Tokyo Olympic Games should be cancelled or postponed, the findings of a survey by think tank Tokyo Shoko Research show, casting further doubt over the fate of the troubled Games, according to a report by Reuters.

The survey, conducted online on 1-8 February covering over 11,000 firms, shows 56.0% of the companies polled feel Japan should cancel or postpone the Games, up from 53.6% in the previous survey in August.

Only 7.7% of the firms surveyed said the Games should proceed in full form as scheduled this year, down from 22.5% in the previous survey. Nearly 20% said the Games should be held with a limited number of spectators, while another 17% said it should proceed with no spectators, the survey showed.

Over 70% of the firms said cancelling or postponing the Games will barely have any impact on their earnings. Meanwhile, the organisers of the Games are pressing on with staging them. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board held a meeting on 27 January, after which IOC president Thomas Bach reiterated the IOC’s commitment to delivering the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 this summer. He told the media, “We are fully concentrated on and committed to the successful and safe delivery of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, starting on 23 July with the Olympic Games and 24 August with the Paralympic Games.”

The Tokyo Olympic Games, originally scheduled to take place last year, have been postponed by 12 months because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cancellation of the Games will lead to losses for insurers from multiple sources, not only from the IOC and local organising committee, but also from broadcasters, sponsors, professional sports teams, and the many other organisations involved in the Games.

Insurers

Analysts at Jefferies have estimated the Tokyo Olympics is insured for around $2bn, plus a further $600m for hospitality, reported Reuters previously. The IOC takes out around $800m of protection for each Summer Games, which covers most of the roughly $1bn investment it makes in each host city. In addition, the local organising committee in Tokyo will have taken out a further policy, estimated at around $650m, while broadcasters are also insured for large sums.

Source: Asia Insurance Review