Japan will be hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. While the construction of facilities for the Olympics is underway, the labour rights conditions facing the construction workers have drawn widespread attention. Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), basing on interviews with workers of the Olympics construction projects, published a report titled “The Dark Side of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics” and revealed how low pay, overwork and poor access to grievance mechanisms are creating a “culture of fear” among construction workers.

The report had been sent to the Tokyo Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (TOCOG), the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) and the Japanese Sports Council (JSC), the organizations responsible for the construction of Tokyo 2020 sporting facilities.