Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori vowed to hold the Summer Olympics “regardless” of the extent of the coronavirus pandemic after rumors within the country suggested the event would be canceled or postponed.
“We will hold the Olympics, regardless of how the coronavirus (situation) looks,” Mori said on Tuesday. “We must consider new ways of hosting the Olympics.”
Japan was plunged into a state of emergency as cases surged throughout the country last month. The lockdown, which has instructed the public to remain indoors and limit activity at restaurants and bars, is set to end on Sunday but is likely to be extended.
Last week, the state of Florida volunteered to host the Olympics, which are set to be held from July 23 to Aug. 8 if Japan decides to back out.
“With media reports of leaders in Japan ‘privately’ concluding that they are too concerned about the pandemic for the 2021 Olympics to take place, there is still time to deploy a site selection team to Florida to meet with statewide and local officials on holding the Olympics in the Sunshine State,” Jimmy Patronis, the Sunshine State’s chief financial officer, wrote in a letter. “I would welcome the opportunity to pitch Florida and help you make the right contacts to get this done.”
Patronis added that “Florida has successfully allowed sports to take place during the pandemic,” including events from the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the National Basketball Association, and the National Football League.
In mid-January, roughly 80% of those polled in two surveys throughout Japan indicated the Olympics should be canceled or pushed back or said they were doubtful the international competition would take place. Last March, organizers rescheduled the global event to 2021 in response to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic after the games were initially slated to begin in July 2020.
When asked about the likelihood of the event being held in Japan, the Olympic Committee referred the Washington Examiner to a statement from the Japanese government, which indicated a “safe and secure” Olympic Games will take place in summer 2021, despite the rumors to the contrary.
“At an IOC Executive Board meeting in July last year, it was agreed that the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 would be held on July 23 this year, and the programme and venues for the Games were rescheduled accordingly. All parties involved are working together to prepare for a successful Games this summer,” the statement said.
“We will be implementing all possible countermeasures against COVID-19 and will continue to work closely with the IOC, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in our preparations for holding a safe and secure Games this summer,” it added.
Japan has accrued nearly 392,000 positive cases of COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, with about 5,800 deaths attributed to the virus.
