LAUSANNE: Cancelling the Tokyo Olympics in response to mounting public opposition in Japan to holding the Games during the Covid-19 pandemic would be an unparalleled act in peacetime.
It would represent a bombshell for the sporting world and have far-reaching and complex financial consequences.
While the Japanese government and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) say they are confident they can stage a safe Games, opinion polls in Japan show more than 80 percent of residents are opposed just over two months before the opening ceremony.
Who would take the decision to cancel?
Formally, the host city’s contract signed by Japanese organisers puts that responsibility on the shoulders of the IOC should there be war or civil disorder, or if…
