80% want Tokyo Games cancelled or delayed - Japanese survey

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach walks with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the 'One Year to Go' ceremony celebrating one year out from the start of the summer games at Tokyo International Forum in Tokyo, Japan July 24, 2019. [REUTERS]

About 80% of people in Japan say this year's Tokyo Olympics should be cancelled or delayed as worries mount about a record surge in coronavirus cases across the country, a Kyodo News poll showed on Sunday.

The survey found 35.3% want the Games to be cancelled and 44.8% favoured another delay. The world's biggest multi-sports event, postponed last year due to the pandemic, is scheduled to be held from July 23-Aug. 8 in the Japanese capital.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency for the greater Tokyo region on Thursday and could extend the measure to other areas as Japan struggles to contain a surge in infections.

Suga has come under fire for his handling of the pandemic and his support rate has tumbled since he took office in September.

His cabinet's approval rate slid 9 points from a month earlier to 41.3% with the disapproval rate at 42.8%, the Kyodo survey showed.

About 79% said Suga's decision to call the state of emergency for Tokyo came too late and 68% were dissatisfied with the government's response to the pandemic, the survey found.