Japanese condom makers suffer brutal blow ahead of Olympics

Olympic organisers are expected to hand out more than 160,000 condoms to 11,000 athletes at the Tokyo Games, despite urging not to use them.

Japanese condom makers have expressed their frustration regarding the opportunity lost during the upcoming Games due to Covid-19 restrictions.

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The Olympics was meant to be a golden opportunity for condom makers in Japan with eager tourists and thousands of products handed out in the athletes village.

But a ban on overseas fans, strict virus rules, and regulations preventing the distribution of their premium condoms to competitors have left manufacturers deflated.

Since the 1988 Seoul Games, hundreds of thousands of free condoms have been distributed at the Olympics, to encourage safe sex - during a time of HIV/AIDS - as the world's elite athletes mingle at close quarters.

As soon as Tokyo was named 2020 host, Japanese condom firms thrust ahead with their manufacturing to ensure maximum coverage in time for the Games.

Now it turns out the manufacturers can only distribute their latex-based condoms, while the ultra-thin models are made of polyurethane, according to the Japan Condoms Industrial Association.

While organisers are still expected to hand out 160,000 at the pandemic-postponed Games, which start next month, virus rules should limit interaction in the Olympic Village.

The Olympic Games rulebook, which aims to guide those attending the game in navigating the risks of Covid-19, reads athletes should: "avoid unnecessary forms of physical contact".

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However, many activists are frustrated condoms are being handed out at the village during times when social distancing is paramount.

The plan to give them out "is something I just cannot comprehend", tweeted Ken Noguchi, a Japanese mountaineer and environmental activist.

And organisers told AFP the condoms are not meant to be used at the village, but to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS around the world.

"The distributed condoms are not meant to be used at the Olympic Village," the organising committee told AFP.

Instead they are supposed to be "brought back by athletes to their respective home countries and to help them support the campaign to raise awareness", they added.

Now it turns out the manufacturers can only distribute their latex-based condoms, while the ultra-thin models are made of polyurethane, according to the Japan Condoms Industrial Association.

"When I learned about the requirement, I thought, 'Oh my God... can that be right?" an industry source told AFP.

"We had really counted on being able to offer these (ultra-thin) ones."

It's a far cry from the heady excitement in the run-up to the Games before they were postponed last year.

In 2018, leading condom-maker Sagami Rubber Industries opened a new factory in Malaysia to meet the expected rise in demand.

"It's only Japanese companies that now manufacture condoms as thin as 0.01-0.02mm," spokesman Hiroshi Yamashita told AFP at the time.

"We see (the Tokyo Games) as an extremely precious opportunity to let the world know about Japan's high technology."

The pandemic has brought on hard times, with Japan's borders effectively closed to tourists and Olympic organisers barring overseas spectators for the first time in history.

with AFP

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