Japan PM: decision on Olympic spectators will be made based on existing rules

[July 08, 2021]  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Thursday any decision on the size of crowds for the Tokyo Olympics will be made based existing domestic rules.

Under a state of emergency, the number of spectators at major events in Japan is capped at 50% of venue capacity, up to a maximum of 5,000.

Earlier on Thursday, Suga announced that the government would put Tokyo, host of the Tokyo Games that are scheduled to start on July 23, under a coronavirus state of emergency from July 12 to Aug. 22.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaks during a news conference after the government's decision to exted a state of emergency amid coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan May 28, 2021. Behrouz Mehri/Pool via REUTERS