Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, right, greets International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach during their meeting in Tokyo on Nov. 16. (The Asahi Shimbun)

Some Roman emperors were eager to provide entertainment to the masses to keep them contented. The ploy came to be known as "bread and circuses." But it had nothing to do with the acrobatic performances we automatically associate with a circus.

In ancient Rome, the word circus denoted an oval track for chariot races. I learned this from a book by Western historian Ryoji Motomura.

Since spectators were said to enjoy watching horse-drawn chariots racing against one another at full tilt, I suppose those circuses were a kind of sporting event.

Reading about the Tokyo Olympics in The Asahi Shimbun's morning edition yesterday, I was convinced that the usefulness of "circuses" must be timeless and universal to political leaders.

Within the government and the ruling coalition, there is a widespread awareness of the Olympics as "the greatest booster" of the administration's popularity.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's thinking is that if he dissolves the Lower House and calls a snap election right after the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics next summer, claiming all credit for the successful Games, his Liberal Democratic Party should win it handily and this in turn should guarantee a long life for his administration, according to the Asahi report. 

While International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach was in Tokyo, Suga told him of his determination to go ahead with the Games at all costs, saying that doing so would serve as "proof of humanity's triumph over the virus."

But the word "triumph" sounds utterly hollow when I turn my eyes to what is happening around the world.

Per-day COVID-19 infections have topped 100,000 in the United States and Europe is going back into "lockdown."

Yet, Suga still believes in holding the Olympics and inviting spectators from overseas, placing his trust in vaccines that are now under development.

But let us not forget that Europe experienced a huge surge in infections after hordes of vacationers traveled across national borders during the summer holiday season.

The "bread" in the "bread and circuses" sustains people's day-to-day lives. But should unrealistically ambitious "circuses" invite a collapse of the health care system, that would endanger daily life itself.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 18

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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