Six months before the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, will the event be postponed once again, or worse, canceled?
Taro Kono, Minister of Administrative Reform and key figure in the government, did not rule out the Games being canceled, Tokyo and ten other departments in Japan being currently in a state of emergency at least until February 7.
“Given the coronavirus situation, anything can happen,” Taro Kono said during a press briefing.
"The organizing committee and the IOC (International Olympic Committee) must of course think about contingency plans," he said, while ensuring that the Japanese government was "firmly" preparing for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
"Safe and Secure" Games
Taro Kono is the first high-ranking government official to publicly distance himself from the line of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who insists that Japan will be able to organize “safe and secure” Games as planned this summer.
Despite the arrival of vaccines, the support of the Japanese population for the Olympics has fallen considerably.
A recent poll in the archipelago showed that 80% of those polled believe the Games should be postponed again or simply canceled.
The Prime Minister is convinced that public opinion will change its mind when Japan begins its vaccination program at the end of February.
The president of the organizing committee of the Games, Yoshiro Mori, quoted Tuesday by the Kyodo agency, estimated that it was “absolutely impossible” to postpone the Olympic Games after the heavy investments, financial and human, undertaken so far.
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Taro Mori said Japan would have to determine, depending on how the pandemic progresses, whether it accepts foreign spectators.
“We will have to make a very difficult decision between February and March”.
Border restrictions
Local media on Friday quoted Olympic Games Minister Seiko Hashimoto as announcing that Japan had decided to suspend a waiver that allowed foreign athletes to enter the country to train, even during the state of 'emergency.
Japanese athletes will still be allowed to return to their country, but will no longer be able to avoid the 14-day period of isolation upon their return.
"We want the priority to be saving lives," said Hashimoto, again according to these media.
"So as a preventive measure to eliminate the risks, we want to strengthen our first line of defense."
"We will take into consideration the infectious situation in our country and abroad and we will react accordingly," she added.
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The entry ban for foreign athletes who are not residents of Japan is expected to affect professional baseball and football teams, which are about to start their season.
The start of the Japanese Top League rugby championship season has been postponed this week, as many players from multiple teams have tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee, however, stressed on Friday that the latest antivirus measures would facilitate rather than hinder preparations for the Games.
"We believe that the series of measures implemented by the government of Japan, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and other departmental authorities will help improve the situation," he said in a statement.
"We hope that everyday life can return to normal as quickly as possible, and we will continue to work closely with all parties concerned in our preparations to ensure that this summer's Games are held in safety."
