As Tokyo Olympics near, US citizens warned not to travel to Japan

I'm standing outside of Japan's first large scale vaccination center here in Tokyo with the Olympics. Now, just two months away in Japan's struggling with another surge in COVID-19 cases. The stakes are high for Japan to speed up its very sluggish vaccination rollout now at this center combined with another one that just opened in Osaka, the government is a To vaccinate as many as 15,000 people per day. Now these centres only make a small dent in what is a very big problem. Japan so far has only fully vaccinated. Less than 2% of its 126 million people. Less than 0.5% of the elderly population has been fully vaccinated. The majority of the health care workers in this country are still unvaccinated Now only the elderly population, those 65 and older are eligible to be vaccinated. I spoke to several of them who just received their first dose, they say while they are relieved, they're also frustrated by just how long this rollout has taken. I feel frustrated by Japan's vaccine Rollout strategy. It's been so slow for developed country. So I feel a bit disappointed. I definitely don't think Japan should go ahead with the olympics. Very scared. Japan's vaccine Rollout has been held back by bureaucracy, poor planning and a lack of doctors and nurses to administer the vaccine. Now the prime minister has said that the country aims to finish vaccination of the elderly population by the end of july after the olympics has already started. But even that target public health experts tell me, is an extremely optimistic one. Meanwhile, a growing course of voices are coming out in opposition of the games, including from the medical community here, who say that it is impossible to hold these olympic safe. Selena wang CNN Tokyo.

The Tokyo Olympics, postponed in 2020 during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, are facing increasing hurdles in putting on a 2021 show.The latest troubling sign for the Summer Games came Monday when the State Department advised U.S. citizens against traveling to Japan because of a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases.The "Level 4: Do Not Travel" advisory is the highest cautionary level in the department's hierarchy of warnings.It's been more than a year since Americans have paid tourist calls to the nation. Japan has been closed to U.S. leisure travelers throughout the pandemic, with only "very limited" circumstances in which U.S. citizens could enter.The Games are still scheduled to run from July 23 to Aug. 8 in Japan.COVID-19 outbreak in JapanJapan has seen a big increase in COVID-19 cases, which have steadily risen since a state of emergency was lifted in March.Its vaccine rollout has been slow compared with other places in Asia because of a shortage of medical professionals and a lack of syringes. Only about 2% of Japanese citizens have gotten at least one shot of the vaccine.The government plans to open large-scale vaccination facilities in Osaka and Tokyo to speed up the process. The Health Ministry formally approved two COVID-19 vaccines (Moderna and AstraZeneca) on May 21.The rollout also contrasts sharply with the U.S. vaccination campaign, with at least 25 states now having at least 50% of its adult population fully vaccinated.Pressure to postponeThere's been mounting pressure to postpone the Games again.Pushing back against critics last week, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said Japanese and Tokyo 2020 officials would make the right decision on managing the situation and that the risks had been managed well so far.The Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association, an organization of about 6,000 doctors in Tokyo, recently penned a letter calling for a cancellation, while a petition that got 350,000 signatures in nine days in support of a cancellation was submitted to organizers.The CEO of leading Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten said that holding the Games amid the pandemic amounts to a "suicide mission" — among the strongest opposition so far voiced by a business leader.Also on Level 4Japan isn't the only nation to get Level 4 advisory from the State Department.The tropical island nation of Sri Lanka, off the southeast of COVID-ravaged India, was also elevated to "Level 4, Do Not Travel" on Monday. Other popular destinations that have been open to US tourists through much of the pandemic also have a Level 4 warning, including Mexico, Brazil and Turkey.The State Department recently aligned its travel advisories more closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's travel warnings — bumping a significant number of countries into the "do not travel" tier.You can check the advisory status of any nation with the State Department's main advisory page.

The Tokyo Olympics, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, are facing increasing hurdles in putting on a 2021 show.

The latest troubling sign for the Summer Games came Monday when the State Department advised U.S. citizens against to Japan because of a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases.

The " advisory is the highest cautionary level in the department's hierarchy of warnings.

It's been more than a year since Americans have paid tourist calls to the nation. Japan has been throughout the pandemic, with only "very limited" circumstances in which U.S. citizens could enter.

The Games are still scheduled to run from July 23 to Aug. 8 in Japan.

COVID-19 outbreak in Japan

Japan has seen a , which have steadily risen since a state of emergency was lifted in March.

Its vaccine rollout has been slow compared with other places in Asia because of a shortage of medical professionals and a lack of syringes. Only about 2% of Japanese citizens have gotten at least one shot of the vaccine.

The government plans to open large-scale vaccination facilities in Osaka and Tokyo to speed up the process. The Health Ministry formally approved two COVID-19 vaccines (Moderna and AstraZeneca) on May 21.

The rollout also contrasts sharply with the , with at least 25 states now having at least 50% of its adult population fully vaccinated.

Pressure to postpone

There's been mounting pressure to postpone the Games again.

last week, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said Japanese and Tokyo 2020 officials would make the right decision on managing the situation and that the risks had been managed well so far.

The Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association, an organization of about 6,000 doctors in Tokyo, recently penned a letter calling for a cancellation, while a petition that in nine days in support of a cancellation was submitted to organizers.

The CEO of leading Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten said that holding the Games amid the pandemic — among the strongest opposition so far voiced by a business leader.

Also on Level 4

Japan isn't the only nation to get Level 4 advisory from the State Department.

The tropical island nation of Sri Lanka, off the southeast of COVID-ravaged India, was also elevated to "Level 4, Do Not Travel" on Monday. Other popular destinations that have been open to US tourists through much of the pandemic also have a Level 4 warning, including Mexico, Brazil and Turkey.

The State Department recently more closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's travel warnings — bumping a significant number of countries into the "do not travel" tier.

You can check the advisory status of any nation with the .

��vlog