Adviser frets about Japan Olympics, volunteers reported quitting

FILE PHOTO: Visitors try to take photos in front of the Olympic Rings monument outside the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) headquarters near the National Stadium, the main stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games that have been postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan May 30, 2021. REUTERS/Issei Kato

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's most senior medical adviser said on Wednesday that hosting the Olympics during a pandemic was "not normal" while media reported thousands of volunteers quitting in advance.

Most Japanese oppose holding the Olympics - due to start on July 23 after postponement from last year - while doctors fear the event would strain a healthcare system seeing record numbers in critical condition and struggling to vaccinate the nation.