Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori has warned that next summer’s Olympic Games, already postponed to 2021, would be ‘scrapped’ if they could not take place next summer.
The International Olympic Committee and the Japanese government last month postponed the Games until July 2021 because of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
But, with the pandemic’s worldwide infection rate climbing and experts suggesting a vaccine is still a long way off, questions are being asked about whether a further delay might be needed.
But Mori has insisted that if the Games cannot go ahead as now planned next year then they will be axed completely.
“No. In that case, the Olympics will be scrapped,” Mori told Japanese sports daily Nikkan Sports, when asked if the Games could be postponed again until 2022. If that was to be the case then they would become the first Games to be cancelled outside of wartime.
A state of emergency has been declared in Japan until May 6 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Japan has reported around 13,000 cases and over 300 deaths to date. The country has the world’s oldest population and COVID-19 has proven particularly dangerous to the elderly.
The head of the Japanese Medical Association (JMA) has also warned that it would be ‘difficult’ to continue with the Games next year unless ‘an effective vaccine’ is produced between now and then.
Leave a Reply