Will they take place?
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics postponed to 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic are the subject of regular speculation about their holding.
This Friday, the organizers want to reassure athletes around the world and those involved in the Olympic movement the day after the declaration of a state of emergency by the Japanese government to deal with a clear increase in the pandemic.
"This declaration of emergency provides an opportunity to bring the Covid-19 situation under control and to ensure that Tokyo-2020 plans a safe and secure Games this summer, and we will make the necessary preparations accordingly," they insist.
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For those responsible for Tokyo-2020, the state of emergency will not derail their plans.
They ruled out, as they have already done on several occasions, a further postponement of the Games, which were initially due to take place in 2020 and which were postponed for a year, from July 23 to August 8, 2021.
Majority of Japanese want postponement or cancellation
On Thursday, the Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, indeed announced that a state of emergency lasting one month would cover the greater Tokyo region from this Friday.
But he also reiterated that his country is committed to organizing “safe and secure” Games, and he is convinced that public opinion, currently suspicious, will change its mind when Japan begins its vaccination campaign, scheduled for from the end of February.
Japan has so far been relatively spared the pandemic compared to other countries, with less than 3,900 officially recorded deaths since January 2020. But the country has suffered since November a third wave much larger than the first two.
Nearly 7,500 new positive cases were identified Thursday nationally, including 2,500 in Tokyo, two new records.
This upsurge in the pandemic comes against a background of still strong mistrust of the Olympic Games.
In recent months, multiple polls have reported that a majority of Japanese are in favor of a further postponement, or even outright cancellation.
The Olympic movement is still worried like the Canadian Dick Pound, member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
According to comments reported Thursday by the BBC, he said he could not "be certain" that the Games would go as planned because of the unknown on the "surges" of contamination.
The IOC President, Thomas Bach, assured for his part that the organization "would make great efforts" to ensure that the maximum number of participants and spectators are vaccinated before the Games.
