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The postponed Tokyo Olympics plans are becoming more uncertain every day.
As coronavirus cases increase across Japan and in several major countries in Europe and the Americas, officials in Tokyo and the International Olympic Committee have begun to recognize that holding a safe Games may not be possible, emphasizing danger dreams that the Olympics could serve as a global celebration of the end of the pandemic.
Instead, the IOC could be forced to cancel the Olympics for the first time since World War II. It would be a financial blow to both the Olympic organization and to Japan, which has spent more than $ 12 billion to build stadiums and improve its infrastructure to prepare for the Games, and billions more to delay the year-long event.
For weeks, Japanese and Olympic officials insisted the Games would go on and that another delay was not possible. Organizers tried to come up with plans to hold the Games in a way acceptable to the Japanese public, announcing a series of security measures.
But polls show growing mistrust. In a survey this month, Japan’s NHK television station found that nearly 80 percent of those polled believed the Games should be postponed again or canceled entirely. In October, less than half of respondents said this. This figure rose to 71% in December.
Japanese cabinet member Taro Kono on Friday broke his government’s official line, saying the Games “could go both ways,” according to a Reuters report.
His remarks followed similar comments this week from Canadian Dick Pound, the longest-serving IOC member, who told the BBC that there was “no guarantee” that the Games would take place.
Organizers in Tokyo and at the IOC agreed in March to postpone the Games for a year. The biennial sports festival, the largest in the world, was to take place in July and August. The opening ceremony of the Summer Games is now scheduled for July 23.
Thomas Bach, IOC President, said rescheduling the Games is not an option, and if the event cannot take place this summer, it will not happen at all. Toshiro Muto, director general of the Tokyo Olympic Games Organizing Committee, reaffirmed this position this week. The IOC has already awarded the 2024 Summer Games in Paris and the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
Hopes for the Games had increased as several major sporting events unfolded around the world without major issues, albeit on a much smaller scale and with few to no fans in attendance.
For now, Japan is committed to continuing preparations. Yoshiro Mori, chairman of the Tokyo organizing committee, tried to reassure staff members in a speech on Tuesday.
“Spring will definitely come,” he said. “After a long night, there will certainly be a morning. Believing in this way, I would like to work hard until the end so that we can give joy and hope to many people.
This echoed the vision Mr Bach described in the New Year’s speech, when he said he saw the Tokyo Games as the “light at the end of the tunnel” of the pandemic. He praised the rapid development of vaccines for giving hope that the Games could be safe.
“They will be a celebration of solidarity, the unity of humanity in all our diversity and resilience,” said Bach.
The vaccine rollout has been slower than expected, however, and much of humanity will remain unvaccinated this summer. Japan does not plan to start vaccinating its citizens until the end of February, a process that will take months.
According to people who have been briefed on the strategy, IOC and Tokyo organizers are not incorporating vaccines into their plans for the Games, instead assuming that many of the roughly 10,000 athletes – and tens of thousands of coaches and officials going to the Games – will not have been vaccinated. Officials say requiring athletes to be vaccinated is unrealistic.
It is not yet clear whether organizers will allow spectators to attend the Games or travel from outside Japan for the Olympics. Japan has instituted a travel ban for all international visitors that is due to end on February 7, but it could be extended. Elite athletes are no longer exempt.
Hosting the Games has been a priority for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who in September replaced Shinzo Abe, the main force behind efforts to bring the Olympics back to Tokyo for the first time since 1964.
As concerns about hosting the Games grow, officials have started making plans to deal with the danger of bringing so many visitors to a country that is experiencing its fastest spread of the virus since the start of the pandemic.
While Japan, a country of more than 125 million people, has recorded just over 300,000 cases and 4,200 deaths – far fewer than many Western countries – it has recorded a record number of cases and deaths in recent years. last days. He reported more than 6,000 new cases on Thursday.
Seiko Hashimoto, the Minister of the Olympics of Japan, told reporters on Tuesday that the organizers were looking at “comprehensive anti-infective measures, including the necessary controls and management of the follow-up so that we can run a safe and secure Games without vaccination. as a precondition ”.
Officials offered to screen and test visitors upon arrival. Athletes may be subjected to multiple tests and their movements may be limited. They may need to leave the Olympic Village as soon as they finish competing, and may be restricted from who they can partner with in Tokyo.
In a recent conference call with officials from the National Olympic Committees, Lucia Montanarella, IOC Olympic Games media operations manager, said press access to athletes could be severely restricted. Journalists may be subject to location searches and be prohibited from traveling in Tokyo outside of their hotels, Olympic venues and major media centers.
Hisako Ueno and Makiko Inoue contribution to reports.
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