OREANDA-NEWS. The Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association, made up of nearly 6,000 physicians, has called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to cancel the Olympic Games starting in July.

A leading medical organization in Japan published an open letter in which it noted that the country is not in a position to host the Olympics. All hospitals in Tokyo are overcrowded with COVID-19 patients.

"We urge the country's authorities to persuade the IOC to make a decision to cancel the Games," the letter says. "If the Olympics contribute to an increase in mortality, then it will be Japan that will bear the maximum responsibility for this."

Recent social polls in Japan have revealed that local residents have dramatically changed their attitude towards upcoming sports events amid the fourth wave of the pandemic. So, for example, only 14% of the Japanese are in favor of holding the Olympics.

Note that the petition containing the appeal to abolish the Tokyo Games has already been supported and signed by hundreds of thousands of people. Earlier, the Japanese government prolonged the emergency regime in Tokyo and in some other prefectures due to the coronavirus.

It is recalled, initially, the Olympic Games in Tokyo were supposed to be held from July 24 to August 9, 2020. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, Japan had to postpone the Games by one year. This year the Olympic Games will be held from July 23 to August 8, 2021 in Tokyo.