The government had hoped a “short and powerful” state of emergency would contain a fourth wave of infection, but new cases in major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka are still at high levels, Suga said.
Extending the state of emergency to May 31 from May 11 will leave a margin of less than two months before the July 23 start of the Games, which were postponed last year because of the pandemic. read more
Responding to a question at a news conference about continued public unease about the Games, Suga reiterated his stance that Japan can host “a safe and secure Olympics” while following appropriate COVID-19 containment measures.
As of Friday, more than 230,000 people had signed a Japanese online petition calling for the Olympics to be cancelled. read more
“We are putting all our efforts into stemming the spread of infections,” Suga said, after acknowledging that he was “aware” of concerns about the Games.
Suga said Olympics organisers were considering a series of measures that would protect the health and lives of the Japanese public.
Japan has not suffered as badly from pandemic as other countries but its vaccination campaign has been slow. So far only around 2% of the population of about 126 million has received at least one vaccine dose,
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 possibly next week 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.
Japan continues to halt new entries of foreign nationals in principle as it is taking more time than initially expected for the government to stem the number of infections since early January, when it peaked at more than 2,500 cases per day in Tokyo.
With the decision, the government will also have to review its growth strategy, given that expectations for inbound visitors to revive the Japanese economy were high, especially before the games were delayed for one year due to the outbreak of the virus.
On March 3, the representatives of the five organizing bodies, which also include the International Paralympic Committee and the Tokyo metropolitan government, agreed to make a decision on overseas spectators by the end of this month.
The Olympics are due to take place between July 23 and Aug. 8, followed by the Paralympics from Aug. 24 to Sept. 5.
wirepunchr almost 3 years ago
The “water” pressure isn’t high now but things could change.
briangj2 almost 3 years ago
The government had hoped a “short and powerful” state of emergency would contain a fourth wave of infection, but new cases in major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka are still at high levels, Suga said.
Extending the state of emergency to May 31 from May 11 will leave a margin of less than two months before the July 23 start of the Games, which were postponed last year because of the pandemic. read more
Responding to a question at a news conference about continued public unease about the Games, Suga reiterated his stance that Japan can host “a safe and secure Olympics” while following appropriate COVID-19 containment measures.
As of Friday, more than 230,000 people had signed a Japanese online petition calling for the Olympics to be cancelled. read more
“We are putting all our efforts into stemming the spread of infections,” Suga said, after acknowledging that he was “aware” of concerns about the Games.
Suga said Olympics organisers were considering a series of measures that would protect the health and lives of the Japanese public.
Japan has not suffered as badly from pandemic as other countries but its vaccination campaign has been slow. So far only around 2% of the population of about 126 million has received at least one vaccine dose,
https://bdnews24.com/world/2021/05/07/japan-extends-covid-emergency-in-tokyo-pm-suga-says-olympics-still-going-ahead
briangj2 almost 3 years ago
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 possibly next week 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.
Japan continues to halt new entries of foreign nationals in principle as it is taking more time than initially expected for the government to stem the number of infections since early January, when it peaked at more than 2,500 cases per day in Tokyo.
With the decision, the government will also have to review its growth strategy, given that expectations for inbound visitors to revive the Japanese economy were high, especially before the games were delayed for one year due to the outbreak of the virus.
On March 3, the representatives of the five organizing bodies, which also include the International Paralympic Committee and the Tokyo metropolitan government, agreed to make a decision on overseas spectators by the end of this month.
The Olympics are due to take place between July 23 and Aug. 8, followed by the Paralympics from Aug. 24 to Sept. 5.
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/03/4f0072fe1b20-spectators-not-allowed-at-start-of-tokyo-olympic-torch-relay.html