Tokyo: Around 10,000 of 80,000 planned Tokyo 2020 Olympic volunteers have quit, organisers have revealed as they battle persistent doubts over the Games with just 50 days until the opening ceremony on July 23.

Tokyo 2020 Chief Seiko Hashimoto ruled out a further postponement of the Games, speaking to a Japan sports paper and said cancellation would only happen in catastrophic circumstance such as most delegations not being able to come to Japan. 

On Wednesday night, Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto told local media that around 10,000 volunteers — who are vital to the smooth running of the massive event — have quit, largely over Coronavirus concerns. Others dropped out after the Games were postponed by a year, or in protest over sexist remarks made by Hashimoto’s predecessor who was forced to resign. Some of the volunteers are also likely to be among the approximately 80 percent of people in Japan who oppose hosting the Games this year. 

Muto said the reduction in volunteers would not affect the running of the Games because the event has been scaled back, so fewer people are needed.

Participants cut

Overseas fans have already been barred from attending and a decision on whether to allow domestic spectators is expected later this month after the state of emergency in Tokyo ends on June 20.

The number of overseas officials and participants coming for the Games has been cut by about half, to around 78,000, with calls for further reductions. Australia’s softball team earlier this week became the first Olympic athletes to arrive in Japan for the Olympics, a major step forward.