Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has warned that the Tokyo Olympics may be held behind closed doors, as Japanese authorities worry about the current upsurge in Covid-19 cases in the capital.
It is "
possible that there are no spectators
" at the Olympics which are to open on July 23, warned Mr. Suga Thursday evening.
"
We will act with the safety and security of the Japanese people as a top priority
," he said.
The organizers of the Games had decided in June to allow the public residing in Japan, but at 50% of the reception capacities of each Olympic site and within a maximum limit of 10,000 people.
But the organizers and the Japanese authorities had already warned at the time that these restrictions could be further tightened if the health situation deteriorates again.
Spectators could be excluded from some competitions taking place in the evening or at large venues, the Japanese daily Yomiuri wrote on Friday.
Restrictions during all the Games?
A decision is expected to be taken at the next meeting of the five Olympic stakeholders (the International Olympic Committee and the Paralympic Committee, the Japanese government, local authorities in Tokyo and the Japanese organizing committee), the Minister for the Olympic Games said on Friday. Olympics Tamayo Marukawa. According to the Nippon TV channel, this summit meeting could be held next Thursday.
These talks come as the Japanese government plans to extend anti-Covid restrictions in Tokyo from two to four weeks which are currently supposed to last until July 11, according to local media.
An extension of these measures is "
inevitable
", said a source close to the organizing committee of the Olympics to Nippon TV.
These restrictions, which the government could announce next week, should therefore apply until the opening of the Olympics, or even throughout the period of the event.
They mainly weigh on bars and restaurants, invited to close in the early evening, and also capped at 5,000 the number of spectators of mass events (sporting events, concerts).
A postponed draw
Daily cases of Covid-19 are currently tracing back to Tokyo, which recorded more than 700 new infections on Wednesday, a record since the end of May. More than 670 cases were counted Thursday. With the possible tightening of the gauge for the public of the Olympics, the organizers face a last minute headache, because they had planned to organize next Tuesday a draw to designate the ticket holders in Japan authorized to attend the event.
This draw should now be postponed, according to local media. He was supposed to withdraw 900,000 tickets out of a total of 3.6 million that had been sold in Japan for the Olympics. Spectators who were to come from abroad for the Olympics were banned in March. The health crisis has been more contained in Japan than in many other countries: the archipelago has so far recorded less than 15,000 deaths linked to Covid-19, according to official figures. But the pandemic has severely tested the medical system, which fears being overwhelmed if the situation worsens again with the Olympics. About 11% of the Japanese population has received two vaccine injections so far.
