January 16 According to a report by the New York Times on the 15th, because the number of COVID-19 cases in Japan, Europe and the United States is still increasing, the Tokyo Olympic Games may not be held smoothly in a safe environment, and the International Olympic Organizing Committee may be forced to cancel the Olympic Games.
According to the report, Japanese government and OCOG officials have been emphasizing that they will insist on hosting the Olympic Games in recent days, but a new survey by the Japan Broadcasting Association shows that about 80% of the Japanese people think that the Olympic Games should be postponed or cancelled, compared with about 50% of the people holding similar views in October 2020.
In addition, the attitude of the Japanese government also seems to have begun to change. Taro Agawano, one of the cabinet members’s administrative reform, said on the 15th that “no one knows” whether the Olympic Games can be held in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
Moreover, IOC member Pound said this week that there is no guarantee that the Olympic Games will be held smoothly.
Pound is currently the longest-serving member of the International Olympic Organizing Committee. He is also the first to say that the Tokyo Olympics may not be a member of the International Olympic Committee in 2020.
According to the report, the Japanese government once pinned hopes on the coronavirus vaccine, but the development and vaccination of the vaccine is slower than expected. Japan will not start vaccinating its citizens until late February.
It will take months to complete a sufficient number of vaccinations, and it may not be guaranteed to achieve herd immunity by the summer.
The President of the International Olympic Committee Bach has repeatedly said that the Tokyo Olympic Games will not be postponed again.
The New York Times also pointed out that under the current hosting plan, athletes will be required to leave the Olympic Village immediately after the competition, activities in Japan will be severely restricted, and journalists will be banned from free activities in Tokyo.
In addition, it is still uncertain whether the audience can enter and watch.
