International spectators to be barred from entering Japan for Olympics
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[March 20, 2021]
TOKYO (Reuters) - International
spectators will not be allowed to enter Japan during this summer's
delayed Olympic Games amid public concerns over the coronavirus, the
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Organising Committee said on Saturday.
Olympic and Paralympic tickets purchased by overseas residents will be
refunded, according to a statement released following a five-party
meeting including the head of the International Olympic Committee,
Thomas Bach, and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike.
"It's very unfortunate," Koike said of the decision to reporters after
the meeting, but added that the conclusion was "unavoidable" given that
the main priority for holding a successful Games would be the health of
the athletes and the Japanese public.
The Olympic Games, postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are
now scheduled for July 23 to Aug. 8, and the Paralympics from Aug. 24 to
Sept. 5.
Earlier on Saturday, Kyodo news service also reported that the Tokyo
2020 Olympic Organising Committee is leaning towards barring foreign
volunteers from helping at the Games.
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The Olympic torch of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is displayed at
the organising committee office, ahead of the start of the torch
relay on March 25, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan March 19, 2021. REUTERS/Issei
Kato
Media polls show that a majority of the Japanese public are wary
about letting in international spectators to watch the Games as the
country grapples with the tail-end of a third wave of the pandemic.
Sources told Reuters earlier this month that the Japanese government
has concluded it will not be able to allow spectators from abroad.
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Editing by William Mallard, Kim
Coghill and Frances Kerry)
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