An Impossible Decision Over Olympics for Japan

Torch bearers during a relay in the Hiroshima Peace Park on May 17.

Photographer: Carl Court/Getty Images

Hordes of foreign tourists would flock to Tokyo for the Olympics, marveling at a confident Japan that had bounced back from a devastating tsunami to take its place on the world stage.

That was the picture then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe painted when the Japanese capital was picked to host the Games back in 2013.