A physician representing a Japanese medical body warned Thursday that holding the postponed Tokyo Olympics in two months could lead to the spread of variants of the coronavirus.

Dr. Naoto Ueyama, chairman of the Japan Doctors Union, said the International Olympic Committee and the Japanese government had underestimated the risks of bringing 15,000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes into the country, joined by tens of thousands of officials, judges, media and broadcasters from more than 200 countries and territories.

B次元官网网址淪ince the emergence of COVID-19 there has not been such a dangerous gathering of people coming together in one place from so many different places around the world,B次元官网网址� he said, speaking in Tokyo at the Foreign CorrespondentsB次元官网网址� Club of Japan. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 very difficult to predict what this could lead to.B次元官网网址�

Ueyama continually likened the virus to a B次元官网网址渃onventional warB次元官网网址� situation, and said he was speaking from his own experience as a hospital physician who works just outside Tokyo. He has not been involved in any of the Olympic planning.

B次元官网网址淚 think the key here is if a new mutant strain of the virus were to arise as a result of this, the Olympics,B次元官网网址� he said.

The IOC and local organizers say they have been relying on the World Health Organization for public-health guidance. They say the Olympics and Paralympics will be B次元官网网址渟afe and secure,B次元官网网址� focused on extensive testing, strict protocols, social distancing, and keeping athletes largely isolated in the Olympic Village alongside Tokyo Bay.

The IOC has said it expects more than 80% of the people living in the village to be vaccinated. This contrasts with a very slow rollout in Japan where less than 5% of the public has been vaccinated.

Ueyama, who is the chairman of a body that represents 130 physicians, joins other medical experts in Japan in voicing opposition to holding the Olympics. On Wednesday, JapanB次元官网网址檚 mass-circulation Asahi Shimbun newspaper called for the Olympics to be canceled.

Earlier this week, the New England Journal of Medicine said in a commentary: B次元官网网址淲e believe the IOCB次元官网网址檚 determination to proceed with the Olympic Games is not informed by the best scientific evidence.B次元官网网址�

It questioned the IOCB次元官网网址檚 so-called Playbooks, which spell out rules at the games for athletes, staff, media and others. The final edition will be published next month.

B次元官网网址淭he IOCB次元官网网址檚 Playbooks are not built on scientifically rigorous risk assessment, and they fail to consider the ways in which exposure occurs, the factors that contribute to exposure, and which participants may be at highest risk,B次元官网网址� the publication wrote.

The British Medical Journal last month in an editorial also asked organizers to B次元官网网址渞econsiderB次元官网网址� holding the Olympics in the middle of a pandemic.

Ueyama said strains of the virus found in Britain, Brazil, India and South Africa could find their way to Tokyo. He repeated that PCR testing and vaccines are not foolproof.

B次元官网网址淪uch a decision (to hold the Olympics) is not something to be made only by the IOC or only by the one host country,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 am an Olympic fan. However, I donB次元官网网址檛 think they should go ahead while pushing many people into danger or calling on many people to make sacrifices in regard to their lives in order for them to take place.

B次元官网网址淚t is dangerous to hold the Olympic Games here in Tokyo,B次元官网网址� Ueyama added.

He stressed what others have said B次元官网网址� holding the Olympics will place JapanB次元官网网址檚 medical system under more strain. Tokyo, Osaka and other parts of Japan are under emergency orders that are likely to be extended past the May 31 expiration.

B次元官网网址淚t will not be possible for hospitals to provide any special treatment for those involved in the Olympics,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hey will be having the same treatment under the same rules that are available to the Japanese people.B次元官网网址�

More than 12,000 deaths in Japan have been attributed to COVID-19, good by global standards put poor compared to other parts of Asia. Many of those deaths have occurred in the last few months as new cases have spread quickly.

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Japan has officially spent $15.4 billion to organize the Olympics, although government audits say it may be much higher. All but $6.7 billion is public money.

The IOC depends on selling broadcast rights for 75% of its income. It stands to generate an estimated $2-3 billion from TV rights in Tokyo no matter if fans are allowed to attend or not.

So far, fans from abroad will be banned, and next month organizers will say if any local fans can attend.

Senior IOC member Richard Pound of Canada has been speaking out almost daily, focused on convincing Japanese B次元官网网址� and a global audience B次元官网网址� that the Olympics will not be canceled. He told the Japanese magazine Bunshun this week that games the games will be held.

His interview was translated from English to Japanese.

In an interview this week in LondonB次元官网网址檚 Evening Standard, Pound said: B次元官网网址淥rganizers have now changed gears and theyB次元官网网址檙e in the operational part of it. Barring Armageddon that we canB次元官网网址檛 see or anticipate, these things are a go.B次元官网网址�

Ueyama bristled at the comments.

B次元官网网址淭he Olympic Games are not something that should be held even to the extent of Armageddon,B次元官网网址� the doctor said. B次元官网网址淭he question is for whom are the Olympics being held and for what purpose? I donB次元官网网址檛 think that someone who could make such statement has any understanding of these questions.B次元官网网址�

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Stephen Wade, The Associated Press

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