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Japan to stage Tokyo Olympics without overseas spectators
The Japanese government has decided to exclude overseas spectators from attending this summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to officials with the knowledge of the matter
The Japanese government has decided to exclude overseas spectators from attending this summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, officials with knowledge of the matter said Tuesday.
The government and the Japanese organizing committee of the Summer Games are expected to hold a remote meeting with the International Olympic Committee and two other bodies later this month to make a formal decision on the issue of overseas visitors.
The government has concluded that welcoming fans from abroad is not possible given concerns among the Japanese public over the coronavirus and the fact that more contagious variants have been detected in many countries, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The opening ceremony of the torch relay will be held without spectators as well to prevent the spread of the virus, officials with knowledge of the planning also said Tuesday.
The organizing committee has decided it is essential to hold the ceremony in the northeastern prefecture of Fukushima behind closed doors, only permitting participants and invitees to take part in the event, to avoid large crowds forming amid the pandemic, the officials said.
In recent weeks, a number of celebrity torchbearers, who were expected to draw large crowds along the route, have opted out of the event, which was supposed to have been held last year before the Olympics and Paralympics were due to the global health crisis.
While the one-year postponement of the games has caused the cost to balloon to at least 1.64 trillion yen ($15 billion), the organizing committee expects to make 90 billion yen from ticket sales.