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The
Games are set to start in under six months, and the Japanese
government and International Olympic Committee (IOC) are vowing
to hold them as planned, although under strict conditions that
could include staging them without spectators.
Biden, speaking on a Westwood One Sports radio programme
broadcast on Sunday during halftime of the Super Bowl, said he
hoped the Games would take place, mainly for the sake of the
athletes who have trained so hard for them.
"I've spoken with the prime minister of Japan, he's working very
hard to be in a position to safely open the Games, to have the
Games, and I think that has to be based on science, whether or
not it is safe for that to occur," Biden said.
Biden, who took office in January, said he hated to think of the
athletes not being able to compete.
"Imagine all those Olympians who work for four years, four years
for one shot and all of a sudden that opportunity gets lost," he
said.
"They are the people that I feel such pain for - but we have to
do it based on the science," he added. "We are a science-driven
administration, I think the rest of the world's there too. I
hope we can play, I hope it's possible, but it remains to be
seen."
The Olympics are set to open on July 23 and run until Aug. 8.
(Reporting by Elaine Lies, editing by Ed Osmond)
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