TOKYO (AP) — The postponed Tokyo Olympics open in 100 days. Tokyo was awarded the Olympics 7 1/2 years ago because it billed itself as “a safe pair of hands.” Nothing is certain now. Organizers and the International Olympic Committee are pushing on despite COVID-19 risks, myriad scandals, and overwhelming public opposition in Japan to holding the games. Tokyo’s 1964 Olympics celebrated Japan’s rapid recovery from defeat in World War II. These Olympics will be marked by footnotes and asterisks. The athletes will aim high but the goals elsewhere will be modest: get through it, avoid becoming a super-spreader event, and perhaps stoke some national pride knowing few other countries could have pulled it off.
