"For Japan, the Olympic Games are no longer a cash cow," said an article on the website of Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao on May 22. "The purpose of the event is to show the world that Japan can host the Olympics in very difficult circumstances." The full text is edited as follows:

In the face of the fourth wave of COVID-19 and the slow pace of vaccination, opposition to hosting the Tokyo Olympics has been growing. However, not stop behind, involved in a myriad of problems.

Japan has put a lot of effort into hosting the Olympics, and it's hard to give up the events it won't win. But to risk staging a jittery Olympics in the midst of a serious COVID-19 pandemic has left many people wondering why.

Eighty percent of the Japanese people think the games should be suspended or postponed, and so does international opinion. However, Japanese leader Yoshihide Suga and his Olympic preparations team have been "endorsement" of the Games, saying they will strive to present a reassuring Olympics.

These "peace of mind" declarations have not been able to withstand the criticism of public opinion. Japan's Takashima Press published a prominent opinion advertisement in the Asahi Shimbun, Yomiuri Shimbun and Nikkei Shimbun on May 11, which has been widely shared in Japanese society and social media. The AD also featured a World War II photo of Japanese students with bamboo guns ready to sprint, with a large, flaming virus in the center, and a text that read: "No vaccine, no medicine. Shall we fight with bamboo? If it goes on like this, many people will be hurt by politics!"

Japan currently has more than 695,000 cumulative cases of COVID-19 and 12,000 cumulative deaths, a relatively small number compared to many countries. However, since the outbreak in 2020, medical care has been a major gap in Japan's response to the epidemic.

Tokyo and Osaka, hit by the fourth wave of the epidemic, are facing a shortage of hospital beds and staff. Japan has also imposed a state of emergency on nine cities, including Tokyo and Osaka, that will last at least until the end of May, and could be extended. In addition, a state of emergency will be imposed in Okinawa Prefecture on June 23 and will last until June 20.

In Japan, which has a population of more than 126 million, vaccination has been slow, with less than 3 percent of the population vaccinated so far. Japan is currently being criticized as a "COVID-19 defeated nation" on the verge of collapse.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics decided to extend the delay, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe insisted on a full scale of the Olympics, insisting that "Japan wants the Tokyo Olympics to be a symbol of humanity's defeat of a virus."

A year on, the epidemic is not better, but also the emergence of a mutant strain of the Olympic Games brought more uncertainty. Japan has declared Olympic venues off-limits to overseas spectators. For Japan, the Olympics are no longer a cash cow, but a television show to prove to the world that the country can host the games in very difficult circumstances.

Mr Suga, who was installed by Mr Abe, must face two tough political battles this year -- a Liberal Democratic party presidential election in September and lower house elections by October at the latest. Recent polls in the Japanese media all show Mr. Suga's approval rating dropping sharply, to around 40 percent. Some analysts said that Suga has been vocal in his support of the Olympics because it is the political legacy of his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, and he wants to use the Olympics as a "political bargaining chip."

However, in the case of not enough protection for the Chinese people, he also declared to the world that "we will go all out to host a reassuring Olympic Games", which made the public feel that the cart was put before the horse. Even Toshihiro Nikai, the LDP's secretary-general, has said several times recently: "At some point, we need to stop with absolute certainty."

The views of Olympic sponsors are also expected to be a steering wheel for the Games. In recent days, there have been loud calls from the Japanese business community to "kill" the Olympics. They worry that if public opinion is ignored and the epidemic worsens after the Olympics, it will eventually hurt advertising. Some entrepreneurs even said they did not want to leave a "bad name" for the Tokyo Olympics.

"The IOC needs to make every effort to ensure that the congress will be held safely," Tokyo organizing committee president Seiko Hashimoto told a news conference at the end of three days of closed-door meetings between the Japanese Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee We are going to implement three radical measures: radical control of the number of people coming into Japan, radical control of their movement and radical improvements in medical care, "he said.

The participants agreed that the meeting had nothing to do with suspending the Olympics. The meeting also insisted that it would be held even during a Tokyo emergency.

A Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker told the Daily Weekly newspaper that Tokyo would have to pay at least 2 trillion yen ($18.4 billion) in compensation to the organizers if it shut down, as well as liquidated damages to the Olympic Committee. The Japanese authorities have so far been silent, presumably because they want the IOC to back down on its own.