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Japan will limit the number of spectators for the Olympic Games to 50% of the maximum capacity of 10,000 people in a venue, which violates the country’s official medical advice.
Although most of the Japanese public will not be vaccinated against Covid-19, the decision to advance with the audience at the Olympics shows that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is willing to risk some additional infections in order to Host a successful Olympic Games.
This signifies that Shigeru Omi, the head of Japan’s response to Covid-19, has rejected a request made by the organizers to hold the Olympics behind closed doors last week.
“We have prepared for the past eight years, and we hope these competitions will be successful,” Tokyo 2020 Chairman Seiko Hashimoto said at a press conference on Monday.
She said that during the pandemic, there were many examples of spectators participating in sports events in Japan and abroad, and insisted that the event can be held safely.
Last week, Omi warned that the crowded TV spectacle in the stadium would be Send a contradictory message To express to the Japanese public that it is safe to relax the preventive measures against Covid-19.
Omi said that if the Olympic Games are held with spectators, there should be stricter restrictions than other sports events, and should be limited to Tokyo residents to avoid increasing the number of travellers.
However, although the organizers seem to have rejected Omi’s request, they said that if the coronavirus situation worsens, the rules may change.
“If an emergency is implemented at any time after July 12, the limit on the number of viewers will be based on the content of the emergency,” Hashimoto said. This may mean holding the game behind closed doors.
Over the weekend, the state of emergency was lifted in Tokyo and other large cities in Japan, and there are approximately 1,500 new Covid cases nationwide every day. Doctors are worried about a new wave of diseases, especially as Delta variants become more common.
The Olympic Games were originally scheduled to open on July 23.So far, Japan has 16 out of every 100 Priority is given to medical staff, and priority to the elderly.
Hashimoto said that only one-tenth of Olympic events will be affected by the maximum capacity of 10,000 people. This will include the competitive sports finals held at the Olympic Stadium.
Limiting the number of viewers means Economic blow to organizersHashimoto said that ticket revenue will be less than half of the 90 billion yen ($820 million) budget.
She said that the organizers, the city of Tokyo and the Japanese government will discuss how to fill the budget gap. However, under the contract to support the Olympics, the burden is likely to fall on Tokyo taxpayers.
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