Tokyo just like Seoul has seen a recent increase in COVID infections and this has caused the Japanese government to cancel fans attending the games:
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach gestures on screen during the five-party meeting in Tokyo, Thursday. AP-Yonhap
Organizers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Thursday agreed to hold the Games without spectators, after Japan declared a coronavirus state of emergency for the capital that will run throughout the event.
The widely expected move was made following talks between the government, Tokyo organizers and Olympic and Paralympic representatives.
It was “regrettable” that the Games were going to be held in a limited format, Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto told a briefing, adding her apologies to those who had bought tickets.
It will be interesting to see what Japan decides to do with the Olympic Games, but I wonder if an NBA like “bubble” for the athletes would be doable in Japan:
This file photo shows the Olympic Rings being reinstalled at the waterfront in Tokyo on Dec. 1, 2020.
Japan’s government has privately concluded the Tokyo Olympics will have to be cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, The Times reported, citing an unnamed senior member of the ruling coalition.
The government’s focus is now on securing the Games for Tokyo in the next available year, 2032, the newspaper said. Japan has been hit less severely by the pandemic than many other advanced economies, but a recent surge in cases has spurred it to close its borders to non-resident foreigners and declare a state of emergency in Tokyo and major cities.
About 80 percent of people in Japan do not want the Games to be held this summer, recent opinion polls show, over fears the influx of athletes will spread the virus further.
That did not take very long to make this common sense decision to postpone the Olympic Games until next year:
The 2020 Olympics, which were scheduled to begin July 24 in Tokyo, have been postponed to a date “no later than summer 2021” due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today, the IOC President and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community,” the IOC said in a statement.
It will be interesting to see how the IOC rules on the “Rising Sun” flag at next year’s Olympics:
South Korean protesters hold Japanese rising sun flags during a rally to mark the South Korean Liberation Day from Japanese colonial rule, in Seoul, South Korea, on Aug. 15, 2019.
South Korea has formally asked the International Olympic Committee to ban the Japanese “rising sun” flag at next year’s Tokyo Games, calling it a symbol of Japan’s brutal wartime past and comparing it with the Nazi swastika.
South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Wednesday said it sent a letter to IOC President Thomas Bach expressing “deep disappointment and concern” over Japanese plans to allow the flag in stadiums and other facilities during the 2020 Olympics.
South Korean Olympic officials last month urged the local organizing committee to ban the flag, but Tokyo organizers responded by saying it was widely used in Japan, was not considered a political statement and “it is not viewed as a prohibited item.”
The flag, portraying a red sun with 16 rays extending outward, is resented by many South Koreans, who still harbor animosity over Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
Any guesses on who will pay for all the new Olympic infrastructure in North Korea if this plan gets advanced?:
At a press briefing in Seoul City Hall on Friday, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon announces a plan to bid for hosting the 2032 Summer Olympics with North Korean capital of Pyongyang. [YONHAP]Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon wants his city to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics with the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.
At a press conference at City Hall Friday, just hours after his return from the third inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang, Park vowed to dedicate his efforts to making that dream come true.
A joint statement signed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their summit on Wednesday included an agreement to launch a joint bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympic Games. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
