Japan Blames Decades-Old ‘Curse’ for Ruining Tokyo Olympics
Deputy prime minister has bemoaned a mystical hex that appears to hit the Olympics every 40 years.

REUTERS
Well, it’s certainly an interesting theory. Japan’s deputy prime minister has bemoaned a decades-old “curse” for ruining the Tokyo Olympics. There’s been a lot of speculation that the Games will have to be canceled or postponed due to the new coronavirus pandemic. Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso told a parliamentary committee Wednesday that the setback has happened due to a mystical hex that hits the Olympics every 40 years. “It’s a problem that’s happened every 40 years—it’s the cursed Olympics, and that’s a fact,” Aso said, according to The Guardian. Forty years ago, in 1980, a lot of countries boycotted the Moscow Olympics to protest the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. Forty years before that, in 1940, Japan was set to host the Summer and Winter Games but they were canceled after the outbreak of the Second World War.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
- Account (completed)
- Payment (completed)
- Confirmation (completed)
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
- 1Account
- 2Payment
- 3Confirmation