THIS WEEK’S TOPIC: Should Tokyo go ahead with the Olympics in July-August 2021?
No, the Olympics should not go ahead in Tokyo this year.
It boils down to this seemingly difficult conundrum: how do we measure the cost and value of anything when it is pitted against the sanctity of human life?
Granted, the Tokyo Olympics is set to be the world’s third most expensive with a price tag exceeding US$15 billion and thoughts are certainly swirling on how this amount is going to be recovered. But, seen another way, it’s a ”mere” 0.3 percent of Japan’s US$5 trillion gross domestic product (GDP). We don’t need to look further than India for a glimpse into how things can go horribly wrong.
It would be wise for the organisers and IOC to ponder the words of philosopher George Santayana: ”Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”
Mario Singh
Chief Executive Officer
Fullerton Markets
