High-ranking Tokyo Olympics official dies in apparent suicide

Deceased department head identified from ID card.

It’s now less than seven weeks until the scheduled opening of the Tokyo Olympics. Numerous concerns about the safety and logistics of holding the event during the pandemic, especially with much of Japan not yet vaccinated, remain unresolved, though, and now another incident is casting a pall over the runup to the Games.

On Monday morning, at about 9:20 a.m., a man at Tokyo’s Nakanobu subway station leapt from the passenger platform onto the tracks, and was struck by an oncoming train. He was rushed to the hospital, and from an ID card the man had on him, medical staff were able to determine his identity as Yasushi Moriya.

The 52-year-old Moriya was a high-ranking executive of the Japanese Olympic Committee, heading up its accounting division. Sadly, despite doctors’ efforts to save his life, the injuries he sustained were too severe, and he passed away roughly two hours after being struck by the train. While a police investigation is ongoing, given the circumstances of how the collision occurred it is being seen as an intentional suicide.

On the same day, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly voted on and rejected a petition submitted by residents of Saitama Prefecture, which borders Tokyo to the north, asking for the Olympics to be cancelled. A recent report by public broadcaster NHK also says that some 10,000 Olympic venue volunteers, out of a total of 80,000 have withdrawn from their roles, while 3,500 of the 40,000 “city volunteers,” who were to be helping travelers at transportation hubs and sightseeing spots across Japan during the Olympics, have also rescinded their offers to help.

The Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony remains scheduled for July 23.

If you or someone you know is in Japan and having suicidal thoughts, there are people here to help. Click here for more info.

Sources: Nitele News 24 via Livedoor News via Jin, NHK News Web (1, 2), FNN
Top image: Wikipedia/Arne Müseler
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