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The Olympics -- which were supposed to take place in 2020 but were rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic -- are less than two months away now. However, the host country is still very much battling the pandemic. While many nations around the world are seeing vaccination numbers rise and infected rates go lower, that is not the case in Japan. 

The COVID-19 situation is still so bad in Japan that on Thursday the head of the Japan Doctors Union said he believes that it could be a huge mistake to hold the Tokyo Olympics in July. Naoto Ueyama fears that a new "Olympic" COVID-19 strain could result from the Olympics being held in Tokyo.

"All of the different mutant strains of the virus which exist in different places will be concentrated and gathering here in Tokyo," Ueyama said, according to Reuters. "We cannot deny the possibility of even a new strain of the virus potentially emerging. If such a situation were to arise, it could even mean a Tokyo Olympic strain of the virus being named in this way, which would be a huge tragedy and something which would be the target of criticism, even for 100 years."

Japan has maintained that the 2020 Olympics will be held in a "safe and secure" environment. However, the country is currently in a state of emergency due to its number of COVID-19 cases.

Japanese officials, Olympic organizers, and the International Olympic Committee have maintained that there will be strict health and safety protocols set in place. In addition, foreign spectators have been banned from attending the Tokyo Olympics.

But currently, only 2-4 percent of the Japanese population have received COVID-19 vaccinations.

United States health officials and the State Department advised against citizens traveling to Japan earlier in May. The State Department also offered a warning as the department raised its travel alert from "Level 3: Reconsider travel" to "Level 4: Do not travel."

The Olympics are scheduled to begin on July 23 and run through Aug. 8.