Toyota pulls Tokyo Olympic Games ads in Japan

Toyota, a major sponsor of the Tokyo Olympic Games, has decided to pull their Games sponsorship TV campaigns in Japan. The move is due to the lack of public support in Japan for the staging of the Games.

A Toyota spokesperson in Japan is quoted in Japanese daily newspaper Yomiuri as saying “The Olympics is becoming an event that has not gained the public’s understanding.”

Tokyo is currently under its fourth state of emergency since the start of the pandemic and spectators are not allowed to attend any Olympic venue. There are reports in local Japanese media that 25 positive Covid tests have been found among those who traveled to Japan for the Games.

Toyota signed on as a worldwide Olympic sponsor in 2015, in an 8-year deal reportedly worth nearly $1 billion.

Toyota’s decision is “a big body blow to the Olympics,” said Droga 5’s David Droga in a quote to The New York Times today.

“You’d think that Toyota would be through thick and thin all in, but obviously the situation is more polarizing than we realize,” said Droga.