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Tokyo dismisses rumor of Olympic cancellation talks

2021-01-12T10:04:41.117Z


Less than 200 days before the Tokyo Olympics, where the state of emergency was declared for one month due to the deterioration of the health situation, the organizers of the Games on Tuesday denied the holding of discussions in February on the subject of '' a possible cancellation of the event.


A recent poll the Kyodo news agency found that just over 80% of those polled believe the 2020 Olympics (July 23-August 8, 2021) should be canceled or postponed again.

An increasing proportion revealed in the aftermath of the declaration of a state of emergency last week in Tokyo and neighboring regions by the Japanese government to cope with a sharp upsurge in the pandemic, which has further heightened skepticism from the public opinion towards the Olympic Games.

In a speech to Tokyo-2020 staff, organizing committee general manager Toshiro Muto called "false information" Japanese media speculations that the fate of the Olympics should be discussed in February with the International Olympic Committee. (CIO): “When this kind of information comes to light, some people may feel worried.

I want to say that we don't think that way at all and that these articles are bogus ”.

Mr Muto also tried to put a positive spin on this poll: “The number of people asking for the Games to be postponed has increased a lot, but it means that these people still want the Games to be held.

Of course, for them to take place, we need to ensure that we have safe Games with measures against the virus.

If you think about it that way, I firmly believe that more and more people will come around to this idea ”. 

Tokyo 2024?

Yoshiro Mori, the president of the Organizing Committee for the Tokyo Olympic Games, announced last April that the event, already postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, could not be postponed again.

Aware of the challenges and constraints, Matthew Pinsent, former British rower, called on Monday to postpone the holding of the next summer Olympics, by organizing those in Tokyo in 2024, those in Paris in 2028 and those in Los Angeles in 2032.

Japan is currently facing a sharp upsurge in the coronavirus, which forced the government to declare a new state of emergency for Tokyo and its suburbs at the end of last week, for an initial period of one month.

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This device, which consists mainly of asking restaurants and bars to close at 8 p.m., encouraging companies to resort more to teleworking and the population to avoid non-essential trips at night, should be extended this week to regions of the west of the country, according to local media.

Sporting events are kept under a state of emergency but the number of spectators is limited to 50% of the capacity of each site, and must not exceed 5,000 people.

Two matches on the first day of the national rugby championship were also canceled after around 40 cases of contamination in four teams.

In addition, Japan should not start vaccinations against Covid-19 before the end of February.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga spoke to American billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates on Tuesday.

According to the Japanese media, the two agreed on the importance of also promoting vaccination in emerging countries, especially in view of the Tokyo Olympics ... 

Read also

  • Despite state of emergency in the capital in the Japanese capital, the Games remain on hold

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-01-12

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