Tokyo Olympics organizers bow to pressure from “stay at home” Olympics Reuters

Written by Ju-min Park and Linda Sieg

Tokyo (Reuters)-After several weeks of insisting on allowing spectators to participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the organizers finally succumbed to political pressure and the rising COVID-19 infection, banning almost all fans from participating in the event two weeks before the opening. Global sports events.

The decision was made after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced on Thursday that the capital had entered a fourth state of emergency, which almost robbed the Olympics https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-2020-coronavirus-factbox- idCAKCN2EE1IO their last hope for grand occasions and public spectacles.

Japanese Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Norihisa Tamura said that he regrets the athletes, but the decision is correct.

He said at a press conference on Friday: “Please stay at home to participate in this Olympics and share this excitement with your family at home.”

The Olympics are scheduled to be held from July 23 to August 8. Opinion polls have consistently shown that the Japanese public is worried about continuing to host the Olympics during the pandemic.

In a recent media survey, 35% of people want no audience, 26% want some restrictions, and 34% want to cancel or postpone the Olympics. Visitors from overseas were banned from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-2020-timeline-idCAKCN2EE1IN a few months ago.

“We concluded that if we hold the (Olympics) without spectators, we can gain more understanding, although this is unfortunate,” Seiko Hashimoto, chairman of Tokyo 2020, said after the decision.

This move also seems likely to stifle Kan Naoto’s best-case scenario, which is that he will hold a general election soon after successfully regaining his approval rating for the Olympics.

“This situation has completely collapsed,” said independent political analyst Atsuo Ito. The election for the lower house of parliament must be held later this year, and Yoshihide Suga also faces a re-election campaign from the leadership of the ruling party.

Ten years ago was seen as an opportunity for Japan to show off its long-term stagnation and devastating earthquake, but last year it was postponed by the pandemic and was hit by massive budget overruns https://www.reuters.com/article/ us- olympics-2020-coronavirus-money-factb/factbox-olympics-money-money-money-the-cost-of-tokyos-pandemic-delayed-games-idUSKCN2EE1K1.

Reduce risk, talk quietly

For weeks, medical experts have said that having bystanders would be the least risky option, because the public is generally worried that the influx of thousands of athletes and officials will trigger a new wave of infections.

Olympic swimming silver medalist Tara Kirksel, a professor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, welcomed the decision to ban spectators.

“This obviously disappointed all participants. But I think it greatly reduces the risk,” she told Reuters.

Japan has not suffered from the explosive outbreaks seen elsewhere, but has recorded more than 800,000 cases and more than 14,890 deaths. Tokyo reported 896 new infections on Thursday, which is the 19th consecutive day of weekly increase.

Just over 25% of the population was vaccinated once, and supply failures caused the initially delayed vaccination schedule to be in trouble.

Tokyo-which has been counting on a record boom in tourism-has almost no buzz and excitement.

The Olympic torch relay Tokyo Station held a small ceremony on Friday in an almost empty park.The relay race will be far away from public streets and only small ceremonies without public audiences will be held in the next two weeks

People will also be asked not to gather on public roads, such as triathlons, although some venues outside the greater Tokyo metropolitan area will allow a small number of spectators.