On Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that there is no plan to postpone the Tokyo Olympic Games over fears of Covid-19.
Abe and his G7 allies agreed to support a “complete” Olympics, but dodged questions about whether any of the leaders had brought up the possibility of postponement.
In an unprecedented meeting with other G7 leaders by videoconference to discuss the coronavirus pandemic, Abe said he had told them: “We are doing everything in our power to prepare [for the Games], and we want to aim for a complete event as proof that mankind can defeat the new coronavirus.”
STICK TO THE PLAN: Toshiro Muto, CEO of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, says the Games will go as planned. Picture: Eugene Hoshiko/AP.
A fresh domestic poll, however, showed most Japanese believe the Games should be postponed.
And there are fears inside the Olympic organisation that the event won’t go ahead as scheduled.
Head of the French Olympic Committee Denis Masseglia told Reuters on Monday that the 24 July-9 August Games faces a genuine threat to that timeline.
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He says: “My feeling is that if we’re still in the crisis by the end of May, I can’t see how the Games can happen (on time).
“If we are beyond the peak and the situation is getting better, questions will arise about who qualifies, but we will find the least worst solution.”