Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the Tokyo 2020 Olympics for a year, a debate has been raging in Japan and beyond over whether the worldwide competition should even happen. The vast majority of the country doesn’t want the event to go on, even as the Japanese government and Olympic officials push ahead. But for athletes who have trained for years, if not a lifetime, to represent their country in the Olympics, canceling the Games would be devastating — and a global reminder that we’re still not truly over the coronavirus yet. Today, we speak to L.A. Times Seoul correspondent Victoria Kim about Japan and the Olympics. We also speak to Brandon Loschiavo, an Orange County diver who just qualified for the Olympics and is excited to compete for a gold medal this summer.

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Tokyo Olympics loom, with only 2% of Japanese fully vaccinated and fears over thousands of visitors 

Will the Tokyo Olympics happen? NBC is banking on it 

Brad Loschiavo qualifies for Olympics