Interest grows in Tokyo Games but concerns remain

A private-sector survey shows public interest in sports and athletes grew in Japan after the opening of the Tokyo Olympics. But concerns over the coronavirus were generally unchanged, NHK reported.

The Nippon Research Center has been conducting weekly polls since May on about 1,000 people on how they view the Tokyo Olympics. It released a report on results compiled as of July 28, after the Games opened.

The NRC says 28.8 percent of respondents answered that the Olympics will "boost interest in sports." That's an increase of 12 percentage points from the week before the Games started. Those who answered that the Olympics "will lead to an improvement in the level of Japanese athletes" totaled 26.6 percent, up nearly 14 points. Both figures were the highest since the survey started.

Meanwhile, only 4.9 percent of respondents answered that the Olympics "will help ease concerns over the coronavirus." In relation to the Games' principles, 4.5 percent said the Olympics "will help promote recovery of areas hit by the 2011 disasters" and 4 percent answered they "will help reduce gender inequality." These figures have not changed much since before the Games.

The NRC said that many people had objected to the Games before their opening, but this has changed after the public saw the Japanese national teams compete.

The NRC added that it's too early to say whether it was a good decision to hold the Games. It said it will continue to pay close attention to public opinion until the end of the event.