Rabat – Tokyo Olympic Games President Seiko Hashimoto confirmed that the committee has no intention of canceling the 2021 games.
The Olympics are three months away, to start July 23. Still, there is confusion about whether the Olympics will take place as scheduled or the committee will again postpone them. The current pandemic situation in Japan, as cases are rising recently, cast doubt on the safety of holding the event.
The President of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Seiko Hashimoto, stressed that the organizational body has no plans to cancel the games, denying the statements of Toshiro Nikai, a leading Japanese politician.
Nikai said, “What is the point of the Olympics if it’s responsible for spreading infections? We will have to make a decision at that point.”
“If it’s a situation that’s absolutely impossible, we need to make a decision without hesitation,” he added.
In response to Nikai’s comments, the Tokyo Olympics chief said in a press conference, “I’m not thinking about cancelation. By taking measures to ensure safety and security, we are focusing on hosting the games.”
“With thorough safety measures, we will continue to make efforts toward staging the games,” she said.
On April 12, Kyodo News Agency revealed the results of a poll it conducted, showing that the majority of the respondents prefer either postponing or canceling the Olympic games.
“The poll found 39.2 percent believe the postponed Olympics and Paralympics should be canceled, while 32.8 percent think they should be rescheduled. Only 24.5 percent responded that the games should be held as scheduled,” stated the news agency.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the authorities postponed in March 2020 the Olympic Games which were originally scheduled to take place last summer.
COVID-19 in Japan
With less than 100 days to the games, Japan grapples with a fourth wave of the pandemic. On April 17 only, the Asian country announced 4,000 new infections. This represents the highest figure since January 28. Tokyo, home of the Olympics, reported 591 new cases.
As of April 15, the Asian country reported 516,121 infections, including 473,570 recoveries and 9,500 deaths.
The country began its vaccination campaign on February 12 and has since vaccinated 1,853,729 people, while 678,405 received their second dose of the vaccine.
Due to the ongoing situation, Japanese authorities have announced that overseas fans will not be allowed to attend the Olympics this summer.
