Rarely has the organization of the Olympic Games made so much talk and fuel the controversy.
Ten days ago, the organizers of the Tokyo Olympics, which open on July 23 after being threatened, announced that they would allow the presence of local spectators with a 50% gauge at competition venues, and within a limit maximum of 10,000 people.
The end of a long debate on whether or not to open to the public?
Not at all.
The organizers were already warning that the competitions could be held behind closed doors if the number of cases rebounded.
This Thursday evening, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga did not evacuate the doubts.
Quite the contrary.
It is "possible that there are no spectators at the Olympics, warned Suga.
We will act with the safety and security of the Japanese people as our top priority ”.
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All eyes are then on the numbers of the epidemic and especially the new cases.
After an epidemic peak in May (6,400 cases / day), Japan had fallen to a low plateau of 1,400 new cases per day on average.
But that was a week ago and the trend no longer appears to be downward, with a seven-day average rising above 1,500 cases per day.
In Tokyo, there were more than 700 new infections on Wednesday, a record since the end of May.
More than 670 cases were counted Thursday.
Spectators could be excluded from some competitions taking place in the evening or at large venues, the Japanese daily Yomiuri wrote on Friday.
An Olympics without spectators, a Japan under restrictions?
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.
A decision in the last moments which continues to fuel the opposition to the holding of these Games on the part of the majority of the population. According to an opinion poll, carried out by the daily Asahi and published in mid-May, in full swing, more than 80% of the Japanese were opposed to the continuation of the event. A poll conducted after a petition already calling for the cancellation of the Olympics, which itself followed a letter to the government from a union of Japanese hospital doctors, asking for the same.
Opponents who also rely on government decisions to serve their cause and demonstrate that the country does not have the health capacity necessary to host the Olympics.
Indeed, the Japanese government is considering extending from two to four weeks anti-Covid restrictions in Tokyo which are currently supposed to last until July 11, 12 days before the start of the Games.
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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 weigh mainly 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).
Finally, the last headache for the organization: the drawing of lots for the Japanese who will be able to attend the performances of the athletes. They had planned to hold a raffle next Tuesday to designate ticket holders in Japan allowed 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 were banned in March.