Japanese media anticipate the presence of local spectators, but in limited numbers.
In March, the organizers took the decision - unprecedented in Olympic history - to ban the arrival of spectators from abroad because of a health risk considered too high.
In addition, they have constantly postponed a decision on spectators residing in Japan, in particular to take into account the situation in the archipelago as late as possible.
The meeting on this crucial topic is scheduled to start on Monday and five parties will be represented: the Tokyo-2020 Organizing Committee, the Japanese government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Committee. International Paralympic (ICC).
Athletes are the first to fear a closed door and some sponsors have indicated in private that they prefer an audience, even a small one.
The lifting of the state of emergency on Sunday in Tokyo and other departments sent a rather favorable signal to the organizers who were awaiting the decision of the Japanese government to determine whether they would accept local spectators and, if so, to what limits. .
But the Japanese government has maintained some restrictions at least until July 11 and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has warned that these could be stepped up all at once if Covid-19 cases start to rise again and the medical system was under pressure again.
Health experts advising the government estimated that it would be "
ideal
" to organize the Olympics behind closed doors.
If a local audience is admitted, it will be limited by the government's anti-virus measures anyway.
"
Limit the risks
" Seiko Hashimoto
The organizers have reportedly already given up on selling more tickets and are considering a raffle to determine who, among ticket holders in Japan, will be able to attend the Olympics, according to the Kyodo news agency.
Some media have mentioned a ceiling of 10,000 people or 50% of the capacity of a site, whichever is lower.
A tonnage of 20,000 for the opening ceremony was cited.
On Friday, during a press conference, the president of the Tokyo-2020 organizing committee, Seiko Hashimoto, could not hide her tension: “
Organizing the Games without spectators is the best way to ensure the Games in all safety. security (...).
But as long as we have spectators who want to attend the Games, we will try as much as possible to satisfy them and limit the risks
”.
"
If the circumstances are too unfavorable, we will be forced to give up
" and this decision "
can be taken until the last moment
".
The organizers have been seeking for months to overcome the resistance of the Japanese public which has shown itself hostile to the holding of the Games this summer.
A poll published Monday in the newspaper Asahi, however, revealed that 34% of Japanese were now in favor of the Olympics, against 14% last month.
According to a survey published on Sunday by the Kyodo agency, 86% of those questioned remain worried about a rebound of Covid-19 during the Games and 40% believe that they should be organized without spectators.
Japan, which began to close its borders in March 2020, has been relatively spared from the pandemic, compared to many other countries, with 14,400 officially recorded deaths.
But, for regulatory reasons, he was very slow to start a vaccination program.
To date, less than 7% of Japanese have received two doses of the vaccine.
The organizers of the Olympics gave pledges to the population by dividing by three the number of foreign delegates invited to the Games and by imposing draconian measures on the participants, with threats of expulsion in the event of non-compliance with health rules.
The Olympics are scheduled from July 23 to August 8 and the Paralympics from August 24 to September 5.