Tokyo’s Olympic Village was hit by a fourth coronavirus case on Monday and major sponsor Toyota said it would not run any Games-related TV ads as the event struggled for support just days before the opening ceremony.
Tidesports source reports that a Czech beach volleyball player became the fourth case and the third infected athlete in the village, where thousands of competitors are living in a bios cure “bubble”.
Elsewhere, a teenage female gymnast became the first American athlete to test positive at the Games, with a teammate also isolating as a result. Neither was named.
The delayed 2020 Games will officially get under way on Friday in a near-empty Olympic Stadium, with Tokyo under a coronavirus state of emergency after a spike in cases.
The latest Asahi Shim bun newspaper poll found a majority of respondents, 55 per cent, were against holding the Games this summer, with 33 per cent in favour.
And a composer for the opening ceremony stepped down after admitting to bullying disabled schoolmates, comments that caused an outcry in Japan.
It has not been a smooth final build-up for the Games, which were postponed last year, but officials will hope the tide of public opinion turns when the sports programme starts.
In a sign of the current sentiment Toyota, the world’s biggest automaker, said it would not run Olympics-related TV ads, and its executives would not be present at the opening ceremony.
“Toyota officials will not attend the opening ceremony, and the chief reason behind it is there will be no spectators,” Toyota spokeswoman, Shiori Hashimoto said.
Fewer than 1,000 Olympic officials and VIPs including sponsors will be allowed to watch the opening ceremony on Friday, according to Japanese media.
Earlier, Toyota’s operating officer Jun Nagata told reporters that it was becoming more difficult for the Olympics to strike a positive chord with the public.
“It is turning into an Olympics that cannot get understanding (from the public) in various ways,” Nagata said.