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The Times podcast: Will COVID-19 stop the Tokyo Olympics again?

Tokyo 2020 Olympics protest
Demonstrators protest the Olympics in May in Tokyo.
(Koji Sasahara / Associated Press)
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Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the Tokyo 2020 Olympics for a year, a debate has been raging in Japan and beyond over whether the competition should happen. The vast majority of Japanese citizens don’t want the event to go on, even as the government and Olympic officials push ahead. But for athletes who have trained for years, if not a lifetime, to represent their country in the Olympics, canceling the Games would be devastating — and a global reminder that we’re not over the coronavirus yet.

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Today, we speak to L.A. Times Seoul correspondent Victoria Kim about Japan and the Olympics. We also speak to Brandon Loschiavo, an Orange County diver who just qualified for the Olympics and is excited to compete for a gold medal this summer.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times Seoul correspondent Victoria Kim and U.S. Olympic diver Brandon Loschiavo

More reading:

Tokyo Olympics loom, with only 2% of Japanese fully vaccinated and fears over thousands of visitors

Will the Tokyo Olympics happen? NBC is banking on it

Listen to more episodes of The Times

About The Times

“The Times” is made by columnist Gustavo Arellano, producer Shannon Lin, senior producers Steven Cuevas and Denise Guerra, executive producer Abbie Fentress Swanson and editor Julia Turner. Our engineer is Mario Diaz. Our intern is Ashlea Brown. Our theme song was composed by Andrew Eapen.
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