TOKYO— Jun Hatakeyama applied to be an Olympic volunteer, filled with excitement that he could witness something greater than the Tokyo Games previously held in 1964.
But what he saw instead were mounting problems, including a plagiarism controversy over the Olympic logo and rising construction costs for Olympic venues.
His doubts about whether the Olympics should actually be held came to a head as Japan faced waves of COVID-19 and several states of emergency, eventually leading him to quit in April.
“I decided to resign to protect my own safety and to declare that I’m against holding the Olympics,” said the 21-year-old university student, who lives in a prefecture east of…
Keep on reading: ‘Belittling human lives’: How pandemic pushed Olympic volunteer to quit