The European Union (EU) and Japan on Thursday backed Tokyo’s hosting of the Olympic Games this year, with EU-produced vaccines helping Japan in its battle against a fourth wave of infections. Japan’s vaccination drive has been glacially slow, with just over 5 percent of the population having had a shot, and several polls have shown the majority of the Japanese public are opposed to holding the Games. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union had authorized the export to Japan of more than 100 million vaccine doses, enough to inoculate about 40 percent of the population.
