Japan condom makers see blue as athletes asked to avoid sex during Olympics

The distribution of condoms during the Olympics has been a norm since the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The idea is to encourage safe sex as the world's elite athletes mingle at close quarters.

Tokyo: Japanese condom makers see blue as a ban on overseas fans, and strict COVID-19 protocol during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics preventing the distribution of their premium condoms to competitors have left manufacturers deflated.

The distribution of condoms during the Olympics has been a norm since the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The idea is to encourage safe sex as the world's elite athletes mingle at close quarters.

While the Tokyo Olympics Organising Committee is still hopeful of handing out 160,000 condoms during the next month's mega sporting show, virus rules should limit interaction in the Olympic Village.

The Tokyo 2020 rulebook for athletes specifically warns them to "avoid unnecessary forms of physical contact". This rule left the condom industry wondering why condoms are being distributed at all.

The plan to give them out "is something I just cannot comprehend", tweeted Ken Noguchi, a Japanese mountaineer and environmental activist.

Tokyo Organising Committee, however, said distribution of condoms is meant to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS, and that the International Olympic Committee has asked for the handouts to continue this year, despite the pandemic.

"The distributed condoms are not meant to be used at the Olympic Village," the organising committee told an international news agency.

However, this year they are supported to be "brought back by athletes to their respective home countries and to help them support the campaign to raise awareness", they added.

While the distribution is going ahead, there's a wrinkle for manufacturers: a ban on their prized model, condoms that are just 0.01mm thick.