Are the Olympics cancelled? Japan official's comments sow doubts
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[April 15, 2021]
By Kiyoshi Takenaka and Sam Nussey
TOKYO (Reuters) - A senior Japanese
ruling party official said on Thursday that cancelling this year's
Olympics in Tokyo remains an option if the coronavirus crisis
becomes too dire, dropping a bomb on a hot-button issue and sending
social media into a frenzy.
The Tokyo Olympics Organising Committee responded with a statement
saying all those involved in preparing for the Games remained fully
focused on hosting them in the summer.
"If it seems impossible (to host the Olympics) any more, then we
have to stop it, decisively," Toshihiro Nikai, secretary general of
the Liberal Democratic Party, said in comments to broadcaster TBS.
Cancellation is "of course" an option, he said, adding: "If the
Olympics were to spread infection, then what are the Olympics for?"
With Japan in the midst of a fourth wave of coronavirus infections,
doubts over whether Tokyo would be able to host the Summer Games -
already an unpopular idea with the public - have resurfaced in
recent weeks.
But government and organising officials have consistently said the
Games would go ahead, and the fact that a ruling party heavyweight
made the remark was enough to give his comments top billing on
domestic news. "Olympics Cancelled" was trending on Twitter in Japan
with nearly 50,000 tweets from users as of Thursday afternoon.
"If this person says it, Olympics cancellation looks like a
reality," tweeted @marumaru_clm in reference to Nikai, who is a key
backer of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and is known for his frank
comments.
"Yay! This is great! Finally, it's cancelled, cancelled, cancelled!"
tweeted another user, @haruha3156.
Nikai later issued a written statement to explain his stance.
"I want the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics to succeed," the
statement said. "At the same time, to the question of whether we
would host the (Games) no matter what, that is not the case. That's
what I meant by my comments."
INFECTIONS SURGE
Asked about Nikai's comments, the Tokyo Olympic organising committee
said in a statement: "Prime Minister Suga has repeatedly expressed
the government's commitment to holding the Tokyo 2020 Games.
"All our delivery partners including the national government, the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the
IOC (International Olympic Committee) and the IPC (International
Paralympic Committee) are fully focused on hosting the Games this
summer."
[to top of second column] |
Men wearing face masks
watch as giant Olympic rings, which were temporarily taken down in
August for maintenance amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
outbreak, are transported for reinstallation at the waterfront area
at Odaiba Marine Park in Tokyo, Japan December 1, 2020. REUTERS/Kim
Kyung-Hoon
Japan is grappling with rising COVID-19 infections, with new cases
in Tokyo jumping to 729 on Thursday, the most since early February.
Tokyo, Osaka and several other prefectures entered a quasi-state of
emergency this month, asking bars and restaurants to shorten their
hours.
Still, the government is pushing ahead with preparations
incorporating social distancing measures and other restrictions for
the postponed Games, which are set to begin on July 23 and will be
held without international spectators. A scaled-back torch relay is
already underway. [nL1N2M7066]
"We'll hold (the Games) in a way that's feasible," Taro Kono, a
popular minister in charge of Japan's vaccination drive, said on a
separate TV programme, according to Kyodo News. "That may be without
spectators," he added.
Japan's top medical adviser, Shigeru Omi, acknowledged the pandemic
had entered a fourth wave, driven by mutant strains, with Kyoto
University professor Hiroshi Nishiura urging in a magazine
commentary that the Olympics be postponed.
Akira Koike, an opposition lawmaker with the Japanese Communist
Party, reacted to Nikai's comments on Twitter saying that holding
the event was already "impossible" and that a swift decision on
cancellation should be made.
Cancelling or postponing the Games would probably not hurt Japan's
economy much but would have a larger effect on Tokyo's service
sector, a senior International Monetary Fund official said on
Wednesday.
(Reporting by Sam Nussey, Chang-Ran Kim, Mari Saito, Rocky Swift,
Kiyoshi Takenaka, Sakura Murakami, Daiki Iga and Yoshifumi Takemoto;
Writing by Chang-Ran Kim, Editing by Stephen Coates, Simon
Cameron-Moore, Lincoln Feast and Gareth Jones)
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