The organizers of the Tokyo Olympics insisted on Friday that the Olympic Games postponed due to coronavirus would go ahead as planned next summer despite the declaration of a state of emergency by the Japanese government.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced on Thursday that the month-long state of emergency would cover the greater Tokyo area from Friday as Japan faces a sharp resurgence of the pandemic.
Tokyo-2020 officials have repeatedly said that a further postponement of the Games – which are due to start on July 23 – is out of the question. And they insisted on Friday that the state of emergency would not derail plans.
“This declaration of emergency provides an opportunity to bring the COVID-19 situation under control and to ensure that Tokyo-2020 plans a safe Games this summer, we will make the necessary preparations accordingly,” the organizers said in a statement. communicated.
Suga said Thursday that Japan is committed to hosting a “safe” Olympics and is confident that public opinion will change its mind when Japan begins the vaccinations, which are scheduled to start in late February.
Dick Pound, a member of the International Olympic Committee, was quoted Thursday by the BBC as having said he could not “be certain” that the Games would go as planned because of the unknown on the “surges” of contamination.