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Jonathan White

As messages go, “There is no plan B” does not instil confidence in organisers of an event.
But that is the message from everyone involved with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which are less than five months away (July 24-August 9).
With the coronavirus looming large, the word from the top is that everything is fine. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has dismissed cancelling or postponing the Olympics, as have those beneath him.
Tokyo 2020 chief executive Yoshiro Mori said any such suggestions were “irresponsible rumours” earlier this month, while Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike blasted London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey, who suggested last week that the 2012 hosts could step in if needed.

London can host the #Olympics in 2020.

We have the infrastructure and the experience.
And due to the #coronavirus outbreak, the world might need us to step up.

As Mayor, I will make sure London is ready to answer the call and host the Olympics again.https://t.co/1jJesWS1D6
— Shaun Bailey (@ShaunBaileyUK) February 19, 2020

The International Olympic Committee has backed this up: there is nothing to see here.
But Japan is in the grip of an outbreak of its own, with health minister Katsunobu Kato telling people to avoid crowds and unnecessary gatherings. Meanwhile, authorities have been criticised for their handling of the situation, especially with regard to the Diamond Princess cruise liner docked in Yokohama.
Tokyo 2020 at real risk from spreading coronavirus
There has to come a point where there is a plan B.
Former IOC vice-president Dick Pound agrees. He told Associated Press there are three months left to decide the fate of the Tokyo 2020 Games.
“You could certainly go to two months out if you had to,” the longest-serving IOC member said, suggesting that if the decision in late May was that it was not safe then “you’re probably looking at a cancellation”.

That would be remarkable. The Olympics have only been cancelled because of war – the 1916 Games in Berlin, Tokyo in 1940 and London in 1944.
Pound put the virus into perspective, saying: “This is the new war and you have to face it.”
His view is for organisers to wait until May and ask “Is this under sufficient control that we can be confident about going to Tokyo, or not?”

This is a reasonable outlook but Pound has not tied his legacy or tens of billions of dollars to these Olympics, unlike Japan’s politicians.
It would be no bad thing for them to acknowledge that the coronavirus could lead to the end of the Games as planned.
It would break with their current message but at least it would make it clear what the priorities are in Japan and that the fight against the outbreak is more important than an Olympics at all costs.

The question now is what exactly it would take for organisers to admit they would contemplate a change to the schedule.
If the Tokyo Marathon on March 1 has been closed to amateur runners – bringing the numbers down from around 30,000 to 200 – and the J.League, which kicked off last week to fans in face masks, has called off football until March 15, then why is the Olympics sure to go off as planned?
It can’t. Make no mistake, this Olympics has already been affected by the coronavirus.

Highlights: Vissel Kobe 1-1 Yokohama F.C.

Andrés Iniesta's side had to battle back from behind after a tough challenge from newcomers Yokohama F.C., who were playing their first J1 match since 2007! pic.twitter.com/BmmhXwLMLZ
— J.LEAGUE Official EN (@J_League_En) February 23, 2020

Volunteer training, for example, has already been postponed from last weekend to May. There are larger potential impacts.
The qualifying campaigns for most sports in Asia have been moved and rescheduled. The Chinese women’s football team sum it all up in a photo of them training for their games in quarantine in the corridor of their Australian hotel.
That they were without their best player, former PSG midfielder Wang Shuang, was another telling moment. Wang is back home in Wuhan and, like many other Olympic hopefuls in China, she is continuing to train in the lockdown, posting videos of her doing so in a mask.

Wang Shuang will miss the Olympics women's football playoff against South Korea. She is still training at home in Wuhan. CFA have added Zhang Rui, Fang Jie & Li Mengwen into the squad in Australia. The 3 players are in Thailand now (for 14 days) to meet criteria for entry. pic.twitter.com/9h3TChDZd6
— Titan Sports Plus (@titan_plus) February 23, 2020

She is not the only one to find training affected. Several of the Chinese teams have been sent to train overseas, while star swimmer Sun Yang is training in his hometown rather than in Beijing where he is normally based.
Another potential issue is that China has stopped doping testing while the country battles the epidemic. There is no suggestion of anything untoward, but it is a potential future headache for the IOC.
They have reason to expect more headaches. Events in Europe are now finding themselves postponed or played behind closed doors because of outbreaks there. There is surely more to come based on the spread of cases around the world and qualification for many Olympic sports running well into June.
China ask AFC to play Tokyo 2020 home play-off in Sydney
Even if everything is fine by late May, how many athletes will choose to stay away anyway? The threat of the Zika virus kept many stars at home instead of in Rio four years ago. What of the fans travelling to a country that has already been hit hard by the drop of tourist numbers?
Will this be the first Olympics behind closed doors or with fans, media and even athletes in face masks?
These may all be ‘what ifs’ but someone should at least admit they are considering them. That is not a sign of failure but failing to plan will be.


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Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Tokyo 2020: Japan’s coronavirus battle still not changing Olympics plans

The Olympics rings are reflected on the window of a Tokyo hotel restaurant as a staff member with a face mask sets up a table. Photo: AP

FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2020, file photo, people wear masks as they commute during the morning rush hour in Chuo district in Tokyo. China's massive travel restrictions, house-to-house checks, huge isolation wards and lockdowns of entire cities bought the world valuable time to prepare for the global spread of the new virus. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)

International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound, left, speaks to journalists in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 2, 2016. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

TOPSHOT - This picture taken on February 23, 2020 shows audience members wearing face masks at a J.League football match between Vissel Kobe and Yokohama F. Marinos in Kobe. - The Japanese government has urged people to avoid large gatherings, and Tokyo's government has cancelled some large public events over COVID-19 coronavirus fears that has now killed more than 2,400 people and spread around the world. (Photo by STR / JIJI PRESS / AFP) / Japan OUT

Coronavirus sees Japan’s J-League follow K-League in postponing season

Vissel Kobe's Andres Iniesta (second from right) celebrates with teammates during their J-League meeting with Jubil Iwata. Photo: AP

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors midfielder Han Kyo-won (R) and Japan's Urawa Reds defender Ryota Moriwaki (L) fight of the ball during the AFC Champions League Group G football match between Urawa Reds of Japan and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors of South Korea in Saitama on April 9, 2019. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)

Soccer Football - Coppa Italia - Inter Milan v Napoli - San Siro, Milan, Italy - February 12, 2019 Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku in action with Napoli's Nikola Maksimovic REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Coronavirus could disrupt Tokyo Olympics but Governor Yuriko Koike tells London to back off

Photo: Reuters

FILE PHOTO: Shaun Bailey, candidate for the 2020 London mayoral election speaks at the Conservative Party annual conference in Manchester, Britain October 1, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo

Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike has hit back at a candidate to be London mayor who offered to host this year's Olympics due to the coronavirus epidemic affecting Japan. Photo: AFP

Tokyo 2020 Olympics boss blasts ‘irresponsible rumours’ over coronavirus shutdown

A tourist wearing a mask poses for a photo with the Olympic rings in the background, at Tokyo’s Odaiba district. Photo: AP

Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee chief Yoshiro Mori speaks at a meeting with International Olympic Committee on Feb. 13, 2020, in Tokyo. Mori reiterated that the schedule of the Tokyo Games will not be affected by the spread of the new coronavirus. (Pool Photo) (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Tokyo 2020 viral rumours as big a risk as coronavirus itself

Visitors arrive at Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport. Will this be a similar scene for the Olympics in July? Photo: AFP

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike (R) speaks to the media after meeting with Chairman of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games coordination committee, John Coates (not pictured) in Tokyo on October 25, 2019. - Tokyo's governor said October 25 she opposes moving next year's Olympic marathon and race-walking events to northern Japan over heat fears, describing the proposal as a "bolt from the blue." (Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

Chief Executive Officer Toshiro Muto, right, and Craig Spence, head of communications of the International Paralympic Committee, attend a news conference in Tokyo Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020. Tokyo Olympic organizers said Wednesday they are increasingly concerned about the disruption the fast-spreading virus in China is causing with the games opening in just under six months. "I am seriously worried that the spread of the infectious disease could throw cold water on the momentum toward the games," Muto said. "I hope that it will be stamped out as soon as possible." (Kyodo News via AP)

(FILES) In this file photo taken on December 15, 2019 the National Stadium, venue for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, is seen during a media tour following the the stadium's completion in Tokyo. - With six months until the Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony, workers are putting the finishing touches on the 43 Olympic sites that will be located in two main zones. (Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

epa08134624 The Olympic Rings monument on a vessel is installed at Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan, 17 January 2020. At Odaiba Marine Park, the Olympic aquatic events of marathon swimming and triathlon will be held. Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will open on 24 July through 09 August 2020. EPA-EFE/KIMIMASA MAYAMA

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IOC member Dick Pound says decision on Olympics going ahead as planned needs to be taken by late May
‘Probably looking at cancellation’ at that point, he says, but organisers still refuse to admit anything could change



Tokyo 2020: Japan’s coronavirus battle still not changing Olympics stance but IOC member Dick Pound says decision on going ahead as planned needs to be taken by late May.


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.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Faster, Higher, Stronger | Tokyo 2020: Japan’s coronavirus battle still not changing Olympics plans

Faster, Higher, Stronger | Tokyo 2020: Japan’s coronavirus battle still not changing Olympics plans