When Tokyo celebrated its Olympic bid win in 2013, small souvenir store owners across the country joined the party with an eye on the windfall they expected the games to bring. Eight years and one pandemic later, they are left counting the cost.
In addition to a one-year postponement of the games, the coronavirus pandemic has forced the Japanese government to bar overseas spectators from entering Japan, leaving store owners anxious to know whether anyone in the Japanese capital will want to buy their Olympic and Paralympic-themed wares.
Keiji Kojima, a souvenir wholesaler near Tokyo, said sales have fallen sharply since the outbreak of the virus more than a year ago, and he is not expecting an uptick from the Summer Games.