CORONAVIRUS SCARE We want to hold Olympics: Japan

Tokyo, March 14: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday resisted pressure for changes to the Tokyo Olympics schedule even as sporting events worldwide fall victim to the coronavirus pandemic.

Abe pledged Japan would host the Games as planned in July and said he had no immediate intention to declare a state of emergency over the virus outbreak, which has now seen more than 140,000 people infected across the globe and over 5,400 killed.

His comments come two days after US President Donald Trump suggested the Japanese capital postpone the Games for a year as the spread of the virus wreaks havoc on the sporting calendar.

“We will respond by closely coordinating with officials concerned, including the IOC (International Olympic Committee). There is no change in this,” Abe told a news conference.

“We want to hold the Olympics as planned without any trouble by overcoming the spread of infections,” he said.

Organisers, Japanese government officials and the IOC have insisted preparations are on track and there will be no postponement or cancellation.

England’s football Premier League, America’s NBA basketball season and the Augusta Masters golf major are just some of the competitions swept aside by the pandemic.

On Friday Abe and Trump spoke on the phone about the outbreak and Olympics after Trump proposed a delay.

“We agreed that Japan and the US will cooperate and closely coordinate for success in the Olympics,” Abe said.

The Japanese parliament on Friday approved legislation that gives Abe the power to declare a state of emergency to combat Covid19 but Abe insisted such a declaration was not yet necessary. The coronavirus has infected more than 700 people across Japan and been linked to 21 deaths.