More than 400,000 individuals have signed a petition demanding for the 2021 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games to be canceled because of the continuing coronavirus outbreak.

Kenji Utsunomiya, a well-known lawyer, and politician initiated the petition on May 5. The petition is addressed to Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, Andrew Parsons, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Minister of Olympic Affairs Tamayo Marukawa, Seiko Hashimoto, President of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee, and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike.

According to the petition, the organizations in issue are "now forcibly trying to pursue the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games," while Tokyo and other regions, as well as all countries across the world, are battling the deadly illness.

"Without the assistance of innumerable healthcare personnel, medical institutions, and precious medical resources, the Tokyo Olympic Games would not be possible. Multiple medical professionals, on the other hand, have already notified the public that there is no place for new medical demands... it is quite likely that hosting the Olympics will be a super-spreader and exacerbate the current situation, "According to the petition,

According to certain Japanese polls, the majority of people wanted the Olympics to be canceled. In addition, the official partner of the Games, the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, petitioned the prime minister on Wednesday to cancel the event, citing pandemic-related concerns to public safety and strains on the country's healthcare system.

Most of the prefectures hosting the Olympics, including Tokyo, are in a state of emergency as of Thursday due to an increase in COVID-19 infections.