03:14The Azuma baseball ground in Fukushima, host of a number of baseball and softball matches at the Tokyo Olympics was filmed closed to the public on Friday as the 2020 Games kicked off.
Fukushima residents shared mixed emotions regarding the hosting of the games, with COVID-19 fears still massively overshadowing the Olympics thus far.
"I don't know if we should be excited about the Olympics, because of coronavirus. I don't think there is any excitement," said local resident Kazumi.
"There's something that's not really recognised as the Olympic games going on. As there were no spectators, there are not that many people at Fukushima Station, and there were not many people from other countries or prefectures, so the situation is the same as usual. Even when I went to universities, there was not that much talk about the start of the Olympics or the softball games in Fukushima," stated Fukushima local Hajime Suzuki.
The Japanese government has only permitted journalists and special guests to be allowed entrance into the venues, amid fears that the delta variant of the virus could spread if normal spectators were allowed entry. The Games kicked off on Friday with the opening ceremony in Tokyo, while strict city-wide lockdown measures were in place.
Japan: Azuma baseball ground in Fukushima closed as Olympics kick off with empty stadiums
The Azuma baseball ground in Fukushima, host of a number of baseball and softball matches at the Tokyo Olympics was filmed closed to the public on Friday as the 2020 Games kicked off.
Fukushima residents shared mixed emotions regarding the hosting of the games, with COVID-19 fears still massively overshadowing the Olympics thus far.
"I don't know if we should be excited about the Olympics, because of coronavirus. I don't think there is any excitement," said local resident Kazumi.
"There's something that's not really recognised as the Olympic games going on. As there were no spectators, there are not that many people at Fukushima Station, and there were not many people from other countries or prefectures, so the situation is the same as usual. Even when I went to universities, there was not that much talk about the start of the Olympics or the softball games in Fukushima," stated Fukushima local Hajime Suzuki.
The Japanese government has only permitted journalists and special guests to be allowed entrance into the venues, amid fears that the delta variant of the virus could spread if normal spectators were allowed entry. The Games kicked off on Friday with the opening ceremony in Tokyo, while strict city-wide lockdown measures were in place.
The Azuma baseball ground in Fukushima, host of a number of baseball and softball matches at the Tokyo Olympics was filmed closed to the public on Friday as the 2020 Games kicked off.
Fukushima residents shared mixed emotions regarding the hosting of the games, with COVID-19 fears still massively overshadowing the Olympics thus far.
"I don't know if we should be excited about the Olympics, because of coronavirus. I don't think there is any excitement," said local resident Kazumi.
"There's something that's not really recognised as the Olympic games going on. As there were no spectators, there are not that many people at Fukushima Station, and there were not many people from other countries or prefectures, so the situation is the same as usual. Even when I went to universities, there was not that much talk about the start of the Olympics or the softball games in Fukushima," stated Fukushima local Hajime Suzuki.
The Japanese government has only permitted journalists and special guests to be allowed entrance into the venues, amid fears that the delta variant of the virus could spread if normal spectators were allowed entry. The Games kicked off on Friday with the opening ceremony in Tokyo, while strict city-wide lockdown measures were in place.