Japan’s government is continuing with preparations to hold the Tokyo Olympics this summer as planned, following a postponement because of the coronavirus pandemic, chief cabinet secretary Katsunobu Kato said on Wednesday, January 13.
Japan has repeatedly insisted it will hold the Games despite opinion polls showing a majority of respondents want them postponed again or canceled. (READ: ‘It’s impossible’: Tokyo residents concerned about hosting Olympics)
“Right now we’re working as one with everybody involved in organizing the Games to host them successfully,” Kato told a regular news conference.
The comments come as local media reported Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US philanthropist Bill Gates had spoken about the Olympic Games on Tuesday in a call arranged by Suntory Holdings Ltd CEO Takeshi Niinami.
Suga told Gates the Games were “very important” and would “definitely” go ahead, Kyodo news agency quoted Niinami as saying.
But Kato said Suga did not make that comment to Gates.
“I’ve checked and as far as I know, that expression was not used,” Kato said.
Japan is grappling with a third wave of the coronavirus, with infections hovering at a record-high.
The Olympic Games were originally due to take place in 2020.
Suntory CEO not certain Japan can hold Olympics
The head of Japanese beverage group Suntory Holdings, who is also a government adviser, said he was uncertain whether Japan can host the Olympics, and that the decision would likely be made by end-March.
“I’m not sure whether we’ll be able to hold the Tokyo Olympics or not,” Suntory CEO Takeshi Niinami, an economic adviser to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, told Reuters in an online interview on Wednesday.
“But it’s a great message to the world, as overcoming the battle against COVID. Definitely, we should make every effort.”
Japan initially managed to avoid the kind of explosion in coronavirus cases seen in countries such as the United States, but infections have risen steadily.
The government said on Wednesday it would expand a state of emergency it declared for the Tokyo area last week to 7 more prefectures.
Niinami said that a decision will likely be made by the end of March, as the third wave of infections will likely continue through the end of February or early March.
Niinami had also been adviser to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, under whose leadership Japan aggressively bid to host the Olympics and courted foreign investment in the hospitality sector. – Rappler.com
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