Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association Calls for Cancellation of Summer Olympics

The Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association is raising concerns about staging the Summer Olympics in Tokyo and calling for officials to push the International Olympic Committee to cancel the event.

"We strongly request that the authorities convince the IOC that holding the Olympics is difficult and obtain its decision to cancel the Games," the group said in an open letter to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday, according to Antoni Slodkowski of Reuters.

The doctors stated they "have almost no spare capacity" in local hospitals. Because of an increase in COVID-19 cases, Suga extended a state of emergency in Tokyo from May 11 to May 31.

The IOC and Japan agreed last year to postpone the Summer Games in the hope summer 2021 would offer a safer environment.

Slodkowski reported about 3.5 percent of the Japanese population has been vaccinated against COVID-19 and that "technical glitches" hindered recent vaccination efforts in Tokyo and Osaka.

Even with foreign fans being turned away, the situation could be exacerbated by people traveling to Tokyo for the Olympics. IOC President Thomas Bach recently canceled a trip to Hiroshima because of the surge.

The open letter from the Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association echoed the general beliefs of those in the host country.

In April, Kyodo News reported 39.2 percent of poll respondents were in favor of canceling the Olympics and Paralympics. Another 32.8 percent were in favor of another postponement.

The Asahi Shimbun released the results of its own poll Monday in which 43 percent were in favor of cancellation and 40 percent were in favor of postponement.