Olympics sponsor Toyota WON'T air adverts during Tokyo Games amid public fury at letting event go ahead

 Toyota will not air any Olympic-themed TV adverts in Japan during this year's Games despite being one of the main sponsors due to anger that the event has been allowed to go ahead amidst the Covid pandemic.

Chief Executive Akio Toyoda, the company founder's grandson, also announced today he will skip the Opening Ceremony when it takes place in four days' time.

But Toyota added it will continue to support around 200 athletes that it is sponsoring in the games, including swimmer Takeshi Kawamoto and softball player Miu Goto.


Polls have consistently shown that a majority of Japanese do not want the Olympics to go ahead amid the Covid pandemic, with the country in the midst of a fifth wave of infection and Tokyo under a state of emergency.

Toyota has announced that it will not show any Olympics-themed TV adverts in Japan during the Tokyo Olympics because of 'mixed' public sentiment

Toyota has announced that it will not show any Olympics-themed TV adverts in Japan during the Tokyo Olympics because of 'mixed' public sentiment

'There are many issues with these Games that are proving difficult to be understood,' Toyota Chief Communications Officer Jun Nagata told reporters Monday. 

Being a corporate sponsor for the Olympics is usually all about using the games as a platform to enhance the brand. But being linked with a pandemic-era Games may be viewed by some as a potential marketing problem.

Masa Takaya, a Tokyo 2020 spokesperson, said sponsors each make its own decisions on their messages.

'There is a mixed public sentiment towards the Games,' Takaya said.

'I need to emphasize that those partners and companies have been very supportive to Tokyo 2020. They are passionate about making these Games happen.'

Toyota Motor Corp. signed on as a worldwide Olympic sponsor in 2015, in an 8-year deal reportedly worth nearly $1 billion, becoming the first car company to join the IOC's top-tier marketing program.


The Olympics are taking place amid a fifth wave of viral infections in Japan that has seen Tokyo placed into a state of emergency (pictured) - meaning events will be held without crowds

The Olympics are taking place amid a fifth wave of viral infections in Japan that has seen Tokyo placed into a state of emergency (pictured) - meaning events will be held without crowds

The sponsorship, which started globally in 2017, runs through the 2024 Olympics, covering three consecutive Olympics in Asia, including the Tokyo Games.

The Tokyo Olympics, already delayed by a year, are going ahead despite the Japanese capital being under a state of emergency.

It's already virtually a made-for-TV Olympics with most events, including the opening ceremony, going ahead without fans in the venues. Some dignitaries, such as IOC President Thomas Bach and Emperor Naruhito, are likely to attend.

Toyota is one of the most trusted brands in Japan. The maker of the Prius hybrid and Lexus luxury models prides itself on its quality controls, with its 'just in time' super-efficient production methods praised and emulated around the world.

Public opinion surveys reflect widespread concern among Japanese people about having tens of thousands of Olympic participants enter the country during a pandemic. Some already have tested positive for COVID.

Motoyuki Niitsuma, a manufacturing plant worker who was banging on a bucket in a recent Tokyo protest against the Olympics, said he didn't like the idea of cheering for the national team, and the pandemic has made that message clear.

'The time to compete is over. Now is the time to cooperate,' he said. 'We should never have gotten the Games.'

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