Tokyo Olympics: The best-case scenario is venues full of spectators, says Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike


Tokyo Olympics: The best-case scenario is venues full of spectators, says Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike
Tokyo 2020

On Tuesday, Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike said that the best-case scenario for the upcoming 2021 Tokyo Olympics is to have venues full of spectators. The organizers are still wrestling to conduct the tournament amidst the the coronavirus pandemic.

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The COVID-19 cases are on a surge around the world. With that in mind, the organisers are unsure as to whether they should allow spectators inside or not. And if so, how many. Koike recently spoke at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. She said organisers were still hopeful to have venues full with spectators. “The best-case scenario … would be when all athletes from all countries come here in safety and with peace of mind and the Olympics can, as in previous years, be held with full spectators present as well,” she said.

Organisers had previously said they would not decide on the spectator number until spring.

Tokyo Olympics: With Spectators or without?

Tokyo 2020

Japan had been relatively safe in the pandemic. However, the daily number of cases in Tokyo rose to record above 500 last week. Koike warned that Tokyo was seeing rise in infections among older citizens. This includes cases where people got infected while eating out and later brought it home for elder relatives.

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She is due to meet Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga later on Tuesday. She will discuss domestic travel promotion campaign introduced by the government earlier this year to try to stimulate local economies hit by the near-complete absence of foreign tourism amid the pandemic.

It is clear that the movement of people is having an impact on the increase in cases,” Koike said. “It is necessary to look at what kind of restrictions on the movement of people might be needed,” she added.

The Japanese government is preparing to pause the travel campaign in Osaka and Sapporo following a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, the minister handling the government’s COVID-19 response said on Tuesday.

Also Read: Olympic and Paralympic Games: World leaders at G20 summit express support for Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022

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