An opinion poll released on Monday found that nearly 60% of Japanese people want the Tokyo Olympics to be canceled, despite the fact that the games are less than three months away.

Japan has extended a state of emergency in Tokyo until the end of May as it battles a surge in Covid-19 incidents, creating new doubts about the Games' viability.

The Olympics in 2020, which were delayed by a year due to the pandemic, will begin on July 23.

According to a poll conducted by the Yomiuri Shimbun daily between May 7 and 9, 59 percent of respondents wanted the games canceled, while 39 percent said they should be kept.

There was no choice for "postponement."

Of those who believe the Olympics should take place, 23% believe they should be held without spectators.

The presence of foreign spectators has been prohibited, but the final decision on domestic participation will be taken in June.

TBS News conducted a survey over the weekend that showed 65 percent of people wanted the games to be canceled or postponed again, with 37 percent opting to cancel the event entirely and 28 percent asking for another postponement.

A related poll conducted by the Kyodo news agency in April showed that 70% of people wanted the Olympics to be canceled or postponed.

Though Japanese public opinion about the games "was a source of worry," top Olympic official John Coates said on Saturday that there was no situation in which the sporting extravaganza would not take place.

Despite Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's repeated assurances that the Olympics will go on regardless of the increase in Covid-19 events, the TBS poll found his support at 40%, close to recording lows set earlier this year.

Even though she had waited her entire life to compete in the Olympics, Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka said on Sunday that the dangers of keeping the Tokyo Games should be carefully debated.