THE Japanese public have launched a petition, gaining tens of thousands of signatures, calling for the Tokyo Olympics to be cancelled.

The rollout of the petition comes with Tokyo, Osaka and several other areas under a state of emergency with coronavirus infections rising — particularly new variants. The state of emergency is to expire on May 11, but some reports in Japan say it is likely to be extended.

The postponed Olympics are to open in just under three months on July 23.

The petition is addressed to International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach, who has tentative plans to visit Japan later this month. He is expected to meet the Olympic torch relay on May 17 in Hiroshima, and perhaps also travel to Tokyo where small anti-Olympic protests are being planned.

Although 70-80 per cent of Japanese citizens in polls say they want the Olympics cancelled or postponed, there is no indication this will happen. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Tokyo organising committee president Seiko Hashimoto and Bach have repeatedly said the games will go on as scheduled.

Organisers and the IOC unveiled so-called Playbooks last week, explaining rules for athletes and others to show how the Olympics can be held in the middle of a pandemic. Several test events have been conducted in the last few days, and organisers have reported few problems.

The Olympic torch relay has been criss-crossing Japan for a month. Organisers say that eight people working on the relay have tested positive for the virus.

Organisers say the Olympics will be “safe and secure,” though his has been challenged by local medial specialists and an editorial last month in the British Medical Journal said mass events like the Olympics are “neither safe nor secure.”

Organisers say they will need 10,000 health workers to support the Olympics. They have also requested 500 additional nurses — a nurses’ federation baulked at the request — and 200 sports medicine specialists.

The petition was organised by Kenji Utsunomiya, a lawyer who has run several times for Tokyo governor. It registered about 50,000 signatures in the first 24 hours after being launched.

“Government policies are being set with the Olympics in mind and measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic are being neglected,” Utsunomiya said. “Hospitals are stretched thin and some people are dying at home.”

The headline in English over the petition reads: “Cancel the Tokyo Olympics to protect our lives.”

The petition suggests the Olympics cannot be held safely and says the games have drained finances away from other needs such as the rollout of a Covid-19 vaccine. Only 2 per cent of the Japanese public have been vaccinated. Japan has attributed 10,500 deaths to the virus.

“In order to host the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in July, we must devote a large number of medical professionals, valuable resources such as medical facilities and medical equipment, and various other resources,” the petition says.

In a survey conducted by the nationally circulated Mainichi newspaper, nine prefectural governors said they wanted the games cancelled or postponed again. Most of the 47 governors declined to answer, saying they had no decision-making power.

Vaccine developers Pfizer and BioNTech will donate doses to vaccinate athletes and officials preparing for the Tokyo Olympics.