Japan leader pushes Olympics despite few shots

TOKYO — A full-page newspaper ad in Japan has condemned the government for forcing people to endure the pandemic without vaccines.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is vowing to hold a safe Tokyo Olympics, even as hospitals struggle to find beds for the sick and dying in parts of Japan and many Japanese desperately wait for vaccinations.

Frustration is mounting over Suga’s request that people cooperate while he pushes to hold the Olympics in just over two months. More than 300,000 people have signed a petition calling for the Tokyo Olympics to be canceled.

Last month, Suga declared a third state of emergency in Osaka, the center of the current surge in virus cases, as well as in Tokyo and two other areas. That has been extended through May 31. On Wednesday, two more areas, Aichi in central Japan and Fukuoka in the south, were placed under the emergency measures.

Only 1% of the public has been fully vaccinated, even as millions of doses sit unused in freezers because of staff shortages.

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