Tokyo placed under emergency just three months before Olympic Games

Tokyo placed under emergency just three months before Olympic Games

Tokyo Olympics

Even as the Tokyo Olympic Games is just about three months away from its scheduled start, the COVID-19 cases continue to surge around the world, including the host city. The sharp increase in cases has prompted both Tokyo and Japan’s second largest metropolitan area Osaka to be placed under emergency orders by the government in order to implement strict regulations and protocol.

Despite the huge surge, the organizers of the Games have maintained that there would be no change in schedule or any plan whatsoever of cancelation or postponement. Certain bodies have expressed concern over how effectively the Games would be conducted amidst the rising costs – with the Games already being the most expensive in history. However, organizers have remained certain.

Thomas Bach speaks on the emergency period

Thomas Bach
Thomas Bach

The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach spoke of the imposition of the emergency and said, “This (state of emergency) is absolutely in line with the overall policy of the government. But it is not related to the Olympic Games. It is related to the golden week.”

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Japan’s Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto spoke about the same and said, “I hope that the situation is going be better as soon as possible. As the organizing committee, we are not thinking about cancellation.”

Further, Bach is set to visit the city in the month of May and he clarified that the state of emergency did not have any correlation to his visit.

The Tokyo Olympic Games begin on the 23rd of July.

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