Yesterday, Japanese media revealed that in view of the recent severe situation of epidemic prevention and control in China, the Japanese government will discuss the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games to July to 2032 at the National Assembly meeting on January 18.
As a result, the prospect of the Tokyo Olympic Games has once again become a hot topic.
The epidemic situation in Japan continues to worsen.
Entering the New Year, the COVID-19 epidemic in Japan is accelerating. Tokyo and its surrounding prefectures, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba, are the most affected areas.
January 7, 2,477 new confirmed cases were added in Tokyo in a single day, breaking a record high, and more than 2,000 new cases have been added in a single day for many consecutive days.
Japanese Prime Minister Suga issued a declaration to implement “emergency” in the above-mentioned areas for a period of one month from January 8 to February 7.
In addition, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced yesterday that the Japanese epidemic prevention authorities have detected another new mutant of the novel coronavirus on four men and women who arrived in Tokyo from Brazil.
To this end, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced that it would suspend the Olympic torch tour activities in various cities and districts of Tokyo.
In a statement issued by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the move was intended to “reduce the flow of people and prevent the further spread of the COVID-19 epidemic”.
Public opinion data released by Japanese media shows that people are not optimistic about whether the Tokyo Olympic Games can be held.
NHK released survey data in mid-December last year: 27% of Japanese hope that the Olympic Games will continue, down significantly from 40% in October last year.
According to the survey results, 35.3% of the respondents hope that the Olympics will be cancelled, and 44.8% of the respondents hope to postpone the Olympics again.
Tokyo make-up in 2032?
Breaking the news that the Tokyo Olympic Games will be changed to 2032 is Weekly Truth, an entertainment publication with a large circulation in Japan.
According to the magazine, the Japanese government will convene a parliamentary meeting on January 18 to discuss the 2021 budget plan and decide whether the Tokyo Olympic Games will be held on July 23 this year in accordance with the postponed plan.
In view of the continuous deterioration of the domestic epidemic since December last year, the Japanese government is likely to suspend the Tokyo Olympic Games.
In order to apply for compensation from the International Olympic Committee, Japan may apply for the 2032 Olympic Games.
The report also revealed that during the visit of the International Olympic Committee President Bach to Japan last November, he reached an oral agreement with the Japanese government that if the Tokyo Olympic Games cannot be held in the summer of 2021, the 2032 Olympic Games will be reserved for Tokyo as compensation.
However, the weekly truth report is not new. Because the announcement that the Tokyo Olympic Games would be cancelled and reorganized to 2032 appeared as early as October last year, Bach’s visit to Japan and Suga reached an agreement to promise that the Olympic Games would be held in July this year, and the news soon disappeared.
And with the deterioration of the epidemic situation in Japan in recent days, similar news surfaced.
Judging from the current situation, there are no new differences between the Japanese government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the International Olympic Committee in the scheduled Tokyo Olympic Games.
Last December, the three parties met to solve the budgetary problems arising from the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games and agreed to share the additional $2.8 billion.
In addition, Yasuhiro Yamashita, chairman of the Japan Olympic Organizing Committee, recently revealed that every effort will be made to allow athletes from all over the world to participate in Tokyo, but there may be no live audience at that time.
Vaccines become Olympic insurance
Given that the spread of the epidemic has not been controlled, there are different voices about the prospects of the Tokyo Olympics.
In an interview with the BBC, Pound, an active member of the International Olympic Committee and former executive vice president, said that there is still doubts about whether the Tokyo Olympics can be held in July this year: “I am not sure that the virus is coming back.” In February last year, Pound was the first member of the International Olympic Committee to state that the Tokyo Olympic Games could not be held as scheduled.
More than a month later, the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee jointly announced that the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games will be postponed to July 23 to August 8, 2021.
In response to the current situation, Pound suggested that the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee should make vaccination a necessary condition for athletes to participate in the Olympic Games: “Athletes are important role models. Through vaccination, they can send a strong message.
Vaccination is not only about personal health, but also beneficial to others in society.” There are also many voices in Japan that vaccines will be the only way to ensure the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The Japanese government plans to buy 290 million coronavirus vaccines, but according to media disclosure, the vaccination plan may not be approved until May. At this pace, if the Tokyo Olympic Games are held in July, it will be difficult for Japan to complete the national vaccination plan.
The Japanese government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the International Olympic Committee are currently negative about the suspension of the Tokyo Olympic Games.
An IOC spokesman said yesterday: “The IOC is full of confidence in the Japanese government and the measures it has taken. Together with our Japanese partners, we will continue to devote ourselves to the safe and successful hosting of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer.
Some Olympic people believe that whether the Olympic torch relay can be safely launched will be an important basis for predicting the prospects of the Tokyo Olympic Games. It is planned that the Olympic torch relay will start from Fukushima Prefecture on March 25.
