Japan vaccination uncertainty casts doubts over Olympics

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, second from right, speaks during a meeting of the coronavirus infection control headquarters at his office in Tokyo Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. Suga, in a speech earlier, said the vaccine is “the clincher” in the fight against the pandemic and vowed to start vaccinations as soon as late February, when a health ministry approval of the Pfizer vaccine, the first applicant, is expected. (Kazuhiro Nogi/Pool Photo via AP)

Newspapers' clips on COVID-19 vaccination are posted on a board as Hitoshi Iwase, head of the local office for COVID-19 vaccination preparation at Tokyo's Sumida ward office works Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. Japan is accelerating preparations for COVID-19 vaccinations in hopes of starting them in late February, but uncertainty is growing as the country faces vaccine-shy public, slow approval process and bureaucratic roadblocks, casting a doubt if Tokyo Olympic this summer is possible. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Brand-new ultralow-temperature freezers are seen at warehouse at Kanou Reiki, a freezer supplier, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021 in Sagamihara, west of Tokyo. Some of COVID-19 vaccine must be kept at the ultra-cold temperature of around -70 degrees Celsius (-94 Fahrenheit). Japan is accelerating preparations for COVID-19 vaccinations in hopes of starting them in late February, but uncertainty is growing as the country faces vaccine-shy public, slow approval process and bureaucratic roadblocks, casting a doubt if Tokyo Olympic this summer is possible. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Brand-new ultralow-temperature freezers are seen at warehouse at Kanou Reiki, a freezer supplier, on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021 in Sagamihara, west of Tokyo. Some of COVID-19 vaccine must be kept at the ultra-cold temperature of around -70 degrees Celsius (-94 degrees Fahrenheit). Japan is accelerating preparations for COVID-19 vaccinations in hopes of starting them in late February, but uncertainty is growing as the country faces vaccine-shy public, slow approval process and bureaucratic roadblocks, casting a doubt if Tokyo Olympic this summer is possible. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaks during a meeting of the coronavirus infection control headquarters at his office in Tokyo Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. Suga, in a speech earlier, said the vaccine is “the clincher” in the fight against the pandemic and vowed to start vaccinations as soon as late February, when a health ministry approval of the Pfizer vaccine, the first applicant, is expected. (Kazuhiro Nogi/Pool Photo via AP)

Brand-new ultralow-temperature freezers are seen at a warehouse at Kanou Reiki, a freezer supplier, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021 in Sagamihara, west of Tokyo. Some of COVID-19 vaccine must be kept at the ultra-cold temperature of around -70 degrees Celsius (-94 degrees Fahrenheit). Japan is accelerating preparations for COVID-19 vaccinations in hopes of starting them in late February, but uncertainty is growing as the country faces vaccine-shy public, slow approval process and bureaucratic roadblocks, casting a doubt if Tokyo Olympic this summer is possible. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Brand-new ultralow-temperature freezers are seen at a warehouse at Kanou Reiki, a freezer supplier, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021 in Sagamihara, west of Tokyo. Some of COVID-19 vaccine must be kept at the ultra-cold temperature of around -70 degrees Celsius (-94 degrees Fahrenheit). Japan is accelerating preparations for COVID-19 vaccinations in hopes of starting them in late February, but uncertainty is growing as the country faces vaccine-shy public, slow approval process and bureaucratic roadblocks, casting a doubt if Tokyo Olympic this summer is possible. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)