One of Japan's top doctors has slammed the decision to hold the Olympics at the height of Tokyo's baking summer, warning that heatstroke will be the "biggest risk" during the Games.
In an interview with AFP, Kimiyuki Nagashima, executive board member of the Japan Medical Association, also sounded the alarm that the Olympics will stretch the country's doctors at a time when local families are most at risk from the heat.
And it's not just the heat: Nagashima cautioned against the risk of communicable diseases as people fly in from around the world and gather en masse. Measles is thought to be a particular risk as many Japanese are not adequately vaccinated as children.
"My personal opinion as an individual is that sporting events should be held in a comfortable environment. I don't think it is agreeable to hold it at an inappropriate period at an inappropriate location due to business and economic concerns," he said.
The sweaty Tokyo summer is "generally speaking not a suitable place" for outdoor sports and for their spectators, added the doctor, an orthopaedic surgeon who oversees the association's sports medicine activities.
In the city's bidding document to win the Games, Tokyo said the competition period between July 24 and August 9, followed by Paralympic Games, "provides an ideal climate for athletes to perform at their best" with "many days of mild and sunny weather."
- Humidity 'extremely high' - =============================