Japanese Governor Urges Cancelling of Olympics as Vaccinations Start

日本岛根县知事呼吁取消今年东京奥运会

Japan has delivered its first Covid-19 vaccine dose even as a prefectural governor became the first senior politician to call for the cancellation of this summer’s Tokyo Olympics.

周三，日本接种了该国首剂新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19，即2019冠状病毒病）疫苗，就在同一天，一名县知事成为日本首位呼吁取消今年夏季东京奥运会（Tokyo Olympics）的资深政界人士。

The first recipient of the vaccine in Japan – more than two months after inoculations began in the US and UK – was Kazuhiro Araki, head of the Tokyo Medical Center. He received the jab made by BioNTech and Pfizer on television along with a group of 12 doctors and nurses.

在美国和英国启动疫苗接种计划两个多月后，东京医疗中心（Tokyo Medical Center）院长新木一弘（Kazuhiro Araki）成为日本接种新冠疫苗的第一人。电视画面显示，他与12名医生和护士一起接种了由BioNTech与辉瑞（Pfizer）合作研发的新冠疫苗。

As the vaccination campaign began on Wednesday, Tatsuya Maruyama, the governor of Shimane prefecture, said he did not want to host the torch relay and called for the games to be scrapped.

同样在周三，岛根县知事丸山达也（Tatsuya Maruyama）表示，他不希望在该县进行奥运圣火传递活动，并呼吁取消东京奥运会。

“If the current situation does not improve then the Tokyo Olympics should not go ahead,” said Maruyama. He said contact tracing was inadequate and holding the games risked spreading Covid-19 to prefectures such as Shimane, a sparsely populated region of western Japan.

丸山说：“如果当前形势不见好转，那么东京奥运会就不应继续推进。”他表示，接触者追踪力度不够，举办奥运会可能导致岛根等县爆发新冠疫情。岛根县位于日本西部，人口稀少。

“Tokyo hasn’t been able to control the spread of Covid-19,” he said. “It’s hard to see how we can co-operate with the Olympics or with the torch relay that is supposed to pass through Shimane in May.”

他说：“东京的新冠疫情一直未能控制住。很难想象我们如何能够继续协助奥运会举办或者原定于5月经过岛根县的圣火传递。”

Tokyo has been recording 300-400 new cases of Covid-19 in recent days, down from more than 2,000 a day in early January. Maruyama signalled that he was unhappy with support for businesses in Shimane, which unlike Tokyo is not in a state of emergency.

东京最近每日报告新增病例数为300至400例，低于1月初的每日逾2000例。丸山暗示他对岛根县企业获得的支持感到不满意。与东京不同，岛根县并不处于紧急状态。

Tokyo 2020 – currently leaderless after its president Yoshiro Mori resigned in a sexism row – is struggling to keep the Olympics on track amid growing public scepticism and calls for cancellation.

由于公众疑虑和要求取消奥运会的呼声日益高涨，东京奥组委（Tokyo 2020）越来越难以按计划推进本届奥运会各项准备活动。在前主席森喜朗（Yoshiro Mori）因发表歧视女性的言论辞职后，东京奥组委目前群龙无首。

Following a meeting of the selection panel on Wednesday, Olympics minister Seiko Hashimoto emerged as the most likely candidate for the job, which would put the games under direct political control. Hashimoto competed in speed skating and track cycling at seven different games.

在遴选委员会周三举行会议后，奥运担当大臣桥本圣子（Seiko Hashimoto）成为最有可能担当重任的候选人，而她的当选将把东京奥运会直接置于政治控制之下。桥本圣子曾参加过七届奥运会的竞速滑冰和场地自行车项目。

If other prefectures follow Shimane, particularly those due to host Olympic events or camps for national athletes, it will pile further pressure on Yoshihide Suga. The prime minister has vowed to press ahead with the Olympics as a symbol of humanity’s ability to overcome Covid-19.

如果其他县——尤其是那些为奥运会赛事提供场地或为各国运动员提供住宿的县——效仿岛根县的做法，这将给菅义伟（Yoshihide Suga）施加进一步的压力。这位日本首相曾誓言要继续推进东京奥运会，作为人类有能力战胜新冠疫情的象征。

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