A group of thousands of Japanese doctors want to cancel the Olympics as COVID-19 cases surge

• A group of thousands of Japanese doctors is calling for the Olympics to be canceled.
• COVID-19 cases are surging in the country.
• Hospitals and doctors "have almost no spare capacity," the Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association said in an open letter.

A major doctors' group in Japan is calling for the Tokyo Olympics scheduled for later this year to be canceled as COVID-19 cases surge in the country.

The Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association, which is made up of 6,000 primary care physicians, said in an open letter to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga that Japan's healthcare system could be overwhelmed should the games continue as scheduled.

"We strongly request that the authorities convince the [International Olympic Committee] that holding the Olympics is difficult and obtain its decision to cancel the Games," the organization said in the letter, seen by Reuters. "The medical institutions dealing with COVID-19 have their hands full and have almost no spare capacity."