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Tokyo Trail: key issues surrounding the 2020 Olympics
Our Tokyo Trail series looks at key issues surrounding the 2020 Olympics, which are scheduled for late July.
Updated: 22 Jul, 2021
![The cauldron is seen lit on the first day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic torch relay in Naraha, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan. Photo: AP<img src="https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/660x385/public/d8/images/2021/05/16/dpa_20210514204730.jpg?itok=ctgY50Fm" width="660" height="385" alt="" data-style-type="default" data-writer="Staff" class="image-660x385 caption" data-insert-type="image" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="insert-660x385-9d8096ed-0f78-412f-82b6-a7f82d03c1e0" />](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/2021/07/03/67387624-2772-46a5-8422-937d600e29e2.jpeg)
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[1]
From robots to self-driving cars, Olympics will showcase Japan’s tech prowess
Drone-based technology is being used for security surveillance, with authorities also prepared for cyberattacks. Malware known as the “Olympic Destroyer” infected systems at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
22 Jul, 2021
![The Olympics is a chance for Japan to showcase cutting-edge robotics, automation and computing. Photo: Reuters](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2021/07/22/b89f55ee-e9e1-11eb-b928-713afa0cd390_image_hires_173614.jpg)
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[2]
‘Revolutionary’ tech to be a game-changer for Olympics fans, broadcasters say
From 3D, 360-degree video replays to 5G networks that will ensure smoother coverage, the tech is set to make viewers feel like they’re part of the action
21 Jul, 2021
![Yiannis Exarchos, the chief executive of Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), says the aim is to make people believe they are almost within touching distance of the action. Photo: EPA-EFE](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2021/07/21/d759b286-e9d2-11eb-b928-713afa0cd390_image_hires_112448.jpg)
[3]
Tokyo Olympics: how elite athletes use technology to gun for gold
Sports technology that monitors technique and apparel to improve performance helps athletes, but critics say this can equate to ‘technological doping’.
20 Jul, 2021
![Cyclist Sarah Lee Wai-sze trains in the wind tunnel at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Athletes are using a number of different technologies to improve their performances. Photo: Handout](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2021/07/20/6052d9b6-e891-11eb-b928-713afa0cd390_image_hires_141129.jpeg)
[4]
Covid-19 cases rise despite Games pledge of 85 per cent vaccination rate
More than a dozen Olympic-related positive tests have been recorded in Tokyo since visitors started arriving for the 2020 Games, including a first case at the Athletes Village.
18 Jul, 2021
![A tourist ship cruises past the Olympic Village buildings in Tokyo, where the first Covid-19 case was detected on Saturday. Photo: EPA](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2021/07/20/e62b01e0-e75f-11eb-9aba-1b7e08262541_image_hires_105800.jpeg)
[5]
Tokyo Olympics: will European shuttlers threaten Asia’s badminton dominance?
Asian countries such as China and Indonesia have long had a stranglehold on Olympic badminton, leaving the West with an uphill fight.
17 Jul, 2021
![Illustration: Joe Lo](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2021/07/19/e10a4440-e634-11eb-9aba-1b7e08262541_image_hires_151351.jpg)
[6]
Why are there more female than male Olympic athletes from Hong Kong?
The number of female qualifiers from the city has increased from 11 in 1984 to 26 this year, while there have been fewer male competitors over the same period
11 Jul, 2021
![Hong Kong track cyclist Sarah Lee Wai-sze is a medal hope in Tokyo. Photo: Cycling Association of Hong Kong](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2021/07/09/a60b5ea4-dd67-11eb-9efd-49da69ae692d_image_hires_195333.jpeg)
[7]
Hmong-American gymnast Sunisa Lee’s Olympic dream comes true
As Lee makes history by becoming the first Hmong to represent the US at the Olympics, she hopes her achievement inspires others.
04 Jul, 2021
![Sunisa Lee in action on the uneven bars during the US Olympic trials. Photo: AFP](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2021/07/05/9b60b72a-dbcc-11eb-9660-0b62a055b768_image_hires_083120.jpg)
[8]
US athlete Yul Moldauer heads to Tokyo Olympics as Asian-Americans celebrate
The gymnast, born in Seoul and adopted by American parents, is looking to spin his sparkling domestic form into Olympic gold.
03 Jul, 2021
![Yul Moldauer reacts after competing on the high bar at the Olympic trials in St. Louis. Photo: Getty Images/AFP](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2021/07/04/58d63344-db13-11eb-9660-0b62a055b768_image_hires_104946.jpg)
[9]
Tokyo Olympics: no olive branches for Japan and South Korea as divisions deepen
The Games have magnified tensions over everything from disputed islets to historical issues dating back to Japan’s colonial rule.
26 Jun, 2021
![Several South Korean politicians have demanded that the government announce a boycott of the Olympics, though Seoul has thus far resisted. Illustration: Joe Lo](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2021/06/25/f0625c40-d59d-11eb-8921-c363d46ef7af_image_hires_182203.jpg)
[10]
From surfing to karate, here are the new sports at the Tokyo Olympics
The Olympics is hoping to shake off its outdated image and please younger viewers by ushering in new medal events.
21 Jun, 2021
![Japan’s Misugu Okamoto is one of the stars who will be competing in the Tokyo Olympics. Photo: AFP](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2021/06/18/dcf9e6c6-eeac-4530-b4ca-7b6566b6ae9e_6475e597.jpg)
[11]
As young people tune out, can Olympics vault over a generation gap?
The IOC is worried about the ageing television audience for the Games, as well as the legacy of Olympism – its promotion of sports as a key to a balanced lifestyle and harmonious development.
19 Jun, 2021
![The Olympics has a young-people problem. Illustration: Joe Lo](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2021/06/18/9a7b30ab-ddc5-4cf6-afa2-810f46465a0c_a5d8614e.jpg)
[12]
Analysis | Tokyo 2020 Games are the first ‘gender equal’ Olympics, or so they say
Organisers claim there will be a record number of women competing at the Olympics in Tokyo this year, but academics question if enough progress has been made by the Olympic movement.
12 Jun, 2021
![The IOC has trumpeted Tokyo 2020 as the first ‘gender balanced’ Olympic Games. Illustration: Joe Lo](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2021/06/12/79446f0c-7421-4d20-bc90-6445d60d7849_98400b98.jpg)
[13]
IOC, anti-corruption bodies aim to keep match-fixing out of Olympics
Four women’s doubles teams were disqualified from the London Games after deliberately losing matches to gain an advantage in the knockout stages.
06 Jun, 2021
![Workers inspect a set of Olympic Rings that are scheduled to be installed inside Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016. Photo: AP](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2021/06/06/5a60b6a6-c652-11eb-b0c2-606eecf395cb_image_hires_083810.jpeg)
[14]
Covid-19 restrictions a headache for dope testers at Tokyo Olympics
Benjamin Cohen, of the International Testing Agency, says his team members need good access to athletes to ensure an efficient anti-doping programme in Tokyo.
05 Jun, 2021
![Thousands of Covid-19 and doping tests will be carried out at the Tokyo Olympics. Credit: Joe Lo](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2021/06/05/f1879fe0-c526-11eb-b0c2-606eecf395cb_image_hires_111029.jpg)
[15]
Businesses count cost as Japan’s Olympics tourism boom turns to bust
Tokyo’s target of 40 million foreign tourists in 2020 obviously didn’t materialise, with international travellers unlikely to return in any large numbers until next year at the earliest.
29 May, 2021
![Japan’s tourism-reliant businesses that invested heavily on the promise of an Olympics-inspired boom have been left counting the cost. Image: SCMP](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2021/05/29/de8dbeec-c021-11eb-9b2e-758b3029e26f_image_hires_100809.jpg)
[16]
Analysis | Growing dismay as IOC tells athletes ‘go to Tokyo at your own risk’
The IOC Playbook – a blueprint for Covid-19 safety measures during the Olympics – has a clause that absolves organisers of any responsibility should an athlete test positive.
22 May, 2021
![Athletes will be inside a bubble during the Tokyo Olympics even as the Covid-19 pandemic rages on in Japan. Illustration: Joe Lo](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2021/05/24/5ce5fe54-ba36-11eb-9461-e80e43f535ad_image_hires_095601.jpg)
[17]
Carrie Lam’s Olympics TV deal: a bid to reignite Hong Kong’s patriotism?
As Hong Kong snaps up the broadcast rights to the Tokyo Games, observers wonder if what it really seeks is a national pride pick-me-up from a bygone time when most Hongkongers identified as Chinese.
16 May, 2021
![Children in Hong Kong show their support for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch relay. Photo: SCMP Pictures](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2021/05/14/ee075580-9ced-4d2c-85d9-546496644296_5661617c.jpg)
[18]
As Xi backs Tokyo Games, China hopes to avoid boycott of Beijing 2022
Is there more to China’s offers to jab athletes than simply showing solidarity to a fellow Olympics host?
16 May, 2021
![A giant Olympic rings monument at dusk in Odaiba Marine Park, Tokyo. Photo: EPA](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2021/05/14/cb301278-4263-47eb-8f9d-9448c0857ef9_a6fca7d9.jpg)
[19]
Why Tokyo thinks its Olympics show must go on – even as Covid-19 booms
Pressure is mounting on Yoshihide Suga and the IOC to cancel the Games as Covid-19 infections soar in the Japanese capital, but the message from organisers is clear: these Games are happening.
15 May, 2021
![Opposition to the Tokyo Games is becoming more fervent in the host nation as protesters hold up signs while marching in front of Tokyo’s National Stadium. Photo: DPA](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2021/05/16/219f6e2a-b3a6-11eb-93b7-03206dd91175_image_hires_115449.jpg)