Olympic athletes have signed health waivers in previous Games, but this one has been updated so that athletes will assume risks specific to COVID-19.
U.S. broadcaster NBCUniversal is the IOC's largest single source of income.
The IOC's lofty image belies myriad corruption scandals in the last several decades. The president of the Japanese Olympic Committee was forced to resign two years ago — he was also an IOC member — in a scandal linked to bribing IOC members. A similar scandal surrounded Rio de Janeiro's bid to land the 2016 Olympics.
An online petition demanding cancellation gathered about 400,000 signatures in a few weeks, but several street protests have mostly fizzled. Depending on how the question is phrased, 50-80 percent oppose the Games opening."The fundamental situation is that the machine has been set in motion to make this happen and politically for everyone we have passed the point of no return," Dr. Aki Tonami, who teaches international relations at the University of Tsukuba, wrote in an email to AP.
Recent test events held under the protocols have faced few problems, but athletes will have to accept strict rules.
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