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TOKYO—Japan’s Olympics minister stated the nation was decided to go forward with the Summer Games subsequent yr regardless of some skepticism about whether or not athletes from world wide can safely take part in Tokyo.
“The athletes are all working towards the event next year. By all means necessary, I think we have to go ahead with the Games,” Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto stated at an everyday press convention Tuesday.
International Olympic Committee Vice President John Coates, who heads the IOC’s coordination fee for the Tokyo Olympics, advised French information company AFP on Monday that the Games “will take place with or without Covid.”
As the coronavirus unfold quickly world wide earlier this yr, the IOC and Japan pushed the Olympics again a yr from the deliberate begin date of July 2020. Japan has stated the Games will both happen beginning in July 2021 or be canceled altogether.
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Other than the dates and areas of occasions, little has been finalized, together with whether or not spectators will probably be allowed on the Games. The organizers have stated they’ll goal for a simplified Olympics, however specifics have but to be labored out.
Most tickets have already been offered and stay legitimate for the brand new dates of the Games. Any discount within the variety of followers allowed in stadiums would deal a blow to the funds of an occasion that’s already going through ballooning prices due to the delay, and undermine Japan’s hope of sustaining a tourism increase that has been an essential engine of its financial system.
Local coordinating officers at the moment are beginning to put collectively well being and security measures to stop the coronavirus from spreading on the Games. On Friday, Japan stated it will arrange a committee of presidency and sports activities leaders to resolve on measures to make sure the security of the Olympics.
Guidelines for athletes, spectators and officers are scheduled to be compiled earlier than the top of the yr.
“If domestic and international athletes are willing to comply with our measures, I feel that the Olympics next summer will be safe and secure,” Tokyo 2020 Chief Executive Toshiro Muto stated Friday.
Japanese officers haven’t offered particulars however say security measures will probably be sufficiently rigorous to make sure the Games can go forward even when a coronavirus vaccine isn’t extensively obtainable. “We had discussions with the World Health Organization and others, and reached the consensus that there does not need to be a vaccine to hold the Olympics,” Mr. Muto stated.
Japan’s confidence that it will likely be in a position to host the Games subsequent yr partly displays its relative success to this point at avoiding a extreme toll of sickness and loss of life from the coronavirus by world comparisons. Just over 70,000 individuals have examined constructive for Covid-19 in Japan, and fewer than 1,400 individuals have died, in line with authorities knowledge.
Japan has additionally managed to renew {most professional} sports activities. Professional baseball and soccer video games have been going down, with the variety of spectators restricted to five,000. On Tuesday, professional baseball and soccer officers requested the federal government to extend the restrict.
Hiroaki Nakanishi, head of the enterprise federation Keidanren, stated Japan was containing the virus properly however expressed skepticism that different international locations could be prepared subsequent yr, citing excessive loss of life tolls from Covid-19 in India and Brazil. “This isn’t going to be easy,” he stated. “I want it to happen, but to make this workable they’re going to have to be resourceful and prepared.”
One main unanswered query is what limits, if any, could be positioned on spectators on the Olympics. Most tickets have already been offered and stay legitimate for the brand new dates of the Games. Japan at the moment bars most abroad guests however is slowly stress-free restrictions.
The authorities’s want for the Olympics to go forward displays billions of {dollars} of funding in new stadiums and different services. The one-year delay has added extra prices simply because the financial system is reeling from the impression of the coronavirus, additional weakening public enthusiasm for the Games.
Next week, Parliament will elect a brand new prime minister after Shinzo Abe, Japan’s chief since 2012 and a driving power behind the profitable bid to win the Games, lately stated he would resign due to sickness. Mr. Abe’s more than likely successor, Yoshihide Suga, says he’s dedicated to the Games going forward.
Asked final week if he believed the Olympics may very well be held in the summertime of 2021, Mr. Suga stated: “The government is addressing this issue and working closely with those involved so that the Games can be held safely and securely.”
—River Davis and Chieko Tsuneoka contributed to this text.
Write to Alastair Gale at [email protected]
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