10,000 volunteers for the Tokyo Olympics quit as the Japanese public's opposition to the games grows
- Around 10,000 out of 80,000 Tokyo Olympics volunteers have quit, Japan's national broadcaster reported.
- The Japanese public had been vocally opposing the summer games for weeks.
- Organizers say the event will be safe, but many want it canceled due to COVID-19 fears.
Thousands of volunteers for the Tokyo Olympics have quit, Japan's national broadcaster said, citing the event's organizers.
NHK reported on Wednesday that around 10,000 of the 80,000 volunteers who signed up to help at the event had left their posts, according to Reuters.
The games are due to start on July 23, after being postponed from 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Japan and Olympic organizers have pledged that the event will be safe and have barred international spectators.
But a large number of Japanese people and doctors in the country have called for the games to be postponed or canceled due to the pandemic.
Public opinion has consistently moved against hosting the Games, with a poll in May showing that 83% of those surveyed didn't want the Games to be held in Japan this summer. A poll just nine days before had shown 60% of people opposed to hosting the event.
As of Wednesday, some 415,000 people have signed a Change.org petition asking the Japanese government to cancel the Games.
Rising opposition to the Olympics among Japan's public comes as coronavirus infection rates fall but remain at high levels, and much of Japan remains in a state of emergency.
On Tuesday, it was confirmed that nine prefectures in the country have had their states of emergency extended until at least June 20, less than a month before the Games are due to begin.
Tokyo reported 260 cases of COVID-19 Monday, the 18th straight day of declines, but the city's Governor Koike Yuriko warned that cases could rise again if restrictions are loosened.
"I'm very concerned that the movement of people could return to normal levels," he said, according to NHK.