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Opinion

The cringeworthy countdown to the Tokyo Olympics

A declaration of peaceful surrender is in order

| Japan
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike poses with the unveiled statues of Miraitowa, left, and Someity on Apr. 14: on that same day, Tokyo recorded its highest number of infections since Mar. 21, when the last state of emergency ended.   © Reuters

Dr. Nancy Snow is Pax Mundi (World Peace) Professor of Public Diplomacy at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies.

Cognitive dissonance and strained smiles descended upon a gloomy Apr. 14 as the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government marked the 100-day countdown to July 23 atop a fogged-in Mt. Takao, where the Olympic rings were unveiled like relics from a museum.

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