Tokyo Olympics: another Covid-19 postponement ‘absolutely impossible’ but organisers face ‘very difficult decision’ over fans
- Yoshiro Mori says team will cautiously ‘go ahead with preparations’ despite cut-off times for key staff
- The former prime minister also ponders admission of overseas fans as Covid-19 cases and variants rise
The head of the Tokyo Olympic organising committee said it is “absolutely impossible” to postpone this year’s Olympic Games again because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking in an event organised by Kyodo News, the committee’s president, Yoshiro Mori, said putting off the Games again is not an option because many officials who have played a key role in the preparations are loaned from other organisations, including the Tokyo metropolitan government.
Mori, a former Japanese prime minister, also said Japan will determine whether to admit overseas fans during the Olympics and Paralympics based on the situation of the pandemic in the coming months.
“I think we will have to make a very difficult decision from February to March,” he said at a Tokyo hotel.
Japan has said the Tokyo Olympics will open as scheduled in July this year, followed by the Paralympics in August, with strict antivirus steps in place. The country, however, has struggled to gain the public’s support.