Olympic organizers decided to ban spectators from attending the Tokyo Olympics after the Japanese Prime Minister declared a state of emergency in the host city.
The news was confirmed by Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa, after talks between the government, organizers and Olympic and Paralympic representatives – although it left out the possibility that some venues outside Tokyo still had fans.
«The venues in Tokyo will not include spectators,» Marukawa said. «For those areas where the state of emergency does not apply…we will discuss.»
The widely expected move is the latest blow to the restive Olympic Games, which have been postponed for a year by the pandemic and plagued by a series of setbacks, including huge budget overruns.
But Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said it was necessary to prevent Tokyo from becoming a source of another wave of infection, especially with the spread of the highly contagious Delta virus COVID-19.
The fourth state of emergency begins in Tokyo on Monday – 11 days before the games open – and will end on August 22, two days before the start of the Paralympic Games.
Tokyo recorded 920 new infections on Wednesday. This compared to 714 last Wednesday and is the highest total since the 1,010 reported on May 13. It announced 896 new cases on Thursday.
“Taking into account the impact of coronavirus variables and the need to prevent the infection from spreading to the rest of the nation again, we need to strengthen our countermeasures,” Suga said. «Given the situation, we will issue a state of emergency for Tokyo.»
ban alcohol
Weeks of near-emergency measures targeting Tokyo’s nighttime economy failed to prevent the latest wave of cases. The government will reintroduce an unpopular ban on serving alcohol in bars and restaurants, which will also have to close early.
The emergency declaration in Tokyo – the epicenter of the outbreak in Japan – is an embarrassment to Suga, whose handling of the crisis led to his party’s poor performance in last weekend’s Tokyo Metropolitan Council elections.
«Politically speaking, there is no escaping the presence of spectators,» a source in the ruling party told Reuters.
Suga’s insistence that organizers and the International Olympic Committee will be able to hold a «safe and secure» Olympics even as the number of cases rises in the host city may further anger voters a few months after the general election.
The International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee said last month that attendance would be limited to 50 percent of the venue’s capacity, or a maximum of 10,000 people.
But Suga and the chair of the organizing committee, Seiko Hashimoto, said banning fans was also an option, depending on the number of virus cases in the host city.
Medical advisers said not having spectators at the games would be the least risky option, amid public concerns that the arrival of tens of thousands of athletes, officials and reports of sponsors and support staff could lead to a new wave of injuries.
After the Olympic movement banned sports fans overseas, it pinned its hopes on a limited number of Japanese spectators creating a semblance of atmosphere.
But with the opening ceremony only two weeks away, competitions are likely to be held at empty venues, including the opening ceremony at the new $1.4 billion National Stadium. Media reports said IOC officials and sponsors could attend as «organisers».
Thursday’s talks between the IOC, organizers and Japanese government officials will include IOC President Thomas Bach, who has arrived in Tokyo to oversee the final stage of preparations.
Bach, who is said to be self-isolating at his five-star hotel for three days, and other senior IOC officials have drawn criticism for their insistence on going ahead with the Games regardless of the number of cases and the pressure on medical services in Tokyo.
Earlier this year, John Coats, the vice president of the International Olympic Committee who is overseeing preparations, said the Games could be held «absolutely» even if Tokyo was in a state of emergency.
Suga backed the IOC’s bid to host the Games, despite widespread opposition among the Japanese public and warnings from his chief medical advisor, Shigeru Omi, that the Olympics – along with the summer holidays and the spread of a more transmissible delta version – could lead to an increase in infections. .
«The infection is in an expansion phase and everyone in this country must deeply understand how serious this is,» Omi told reporters on Wednesday. «July-September is the most critical period for Japan’s Covid-19 measures.»
Japan has reported about 810,000 cases and about 14,900 deaths. Only 15 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated, compared to 47.4 per cent in the US and more than 50 per cent in Britain.