Toyota said on Monday that it has decided against running Olympics-themed television advertisements in Japan, a symbolic vote of no confidence from one of the country’s most influential companies just days before the Games begin amid a national state of emergency. The Japanese public has expressed strong opposition to the Games — delayed for a year because of the pandemic — with many worrying that the influx of visitors from around the world could turn it into a Covid-19 superspreader event, undoing national efforts to keep coronavirus levels low. Toyota will refrain from airing television ads at home during the Games and its chief executive, Akio Toyoda, will not attend the opening ceremony, a company spokesman told local news media during an online news conference. “Various aspects of this Olympics aren’t accepted by the public,” said the spokesman, Jun Nagata, according to the business daily Yomiuri Shimbun.

Source: International New York Times July 19, 2021 14:45 UTC