The sports day: Doubts in the government: Olympia remains on the brink

Sunday 17th January 2021

The sports day
Doubts in the government: Olympia remains on the brink

Japan's government has denied reports of a possible cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics. "We have determined the venues and the schedule (for the games), and the people involved are working on preparations including infection control," said government spokesman Katsunobu Katolaut of the Japanese news agency Kyodo. He was responding to media reports on quoted statements by the Minister for Administrative Reform, Taro Kono, that the fate of the Games "could go either way". It was the first time that a senior member of the government suggested doubts as to whether the summer games in the corona pandemic could actually take place.

• Even in the innermost circle of the organizers, doubts about the event have recently grown. "I can't be sure because the waves of the virus are still like an elephant in the room", senior IOC member, Canadian Richard Pound, was recently quoted by the BBC.
• Because of the corona pandemic, the games in Tokyo originally planned for last year had been postponed until this summer (July 23 to August 8). In the meantime, however, the Japanese government imposed on the Greater Tokyo and other prefectures again called the emergency because the number of new corona infections had risen to new highs.
• Host Japan and the International Olympic Committee have so far always confirmed that they want to stick to the plans for "safe and protected games" in July and August.