‘Olympics to go ahead as planned’

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government on Thursday signalled that the Tokyo Olympics would go ahead as planned. Abe’s measures, announced in a briefing with reporters, marked a public display of action after weeks of criticism that he was failing to tackle the outbreak head-on.

While plans for the Games to go ahead were unchanged, a state visit to Japan by Chinese President Xi Jinping that was originally planned for early April was delayed following a decision by both Tokyo and Beijing.

Abe’s Olympics minister, Seiko Hashimoto, said the Games would go ahead as planned for July. “Cancellation or delay of the Games would be unacceptable for the athletes,” she said. She had earlier stirred controversy by saying the contract with the International Olympic Committee “could be interpreted as allowing a postponement” of the Games within calendar 2020.

The rapid spread of the virus has raised questions about whether Tokyo can host the Olympics as scheduled from July 24, especially with the effect it is having on other sporting events.

The Japanese Rugby Football Union has said next month’s Asia

Sevens Invitational, which doubles as a test event for rugby sevens at the Tokyo Olympics, had been cancelled due to concerns over the outbreak.

Hashimoto told the upper house on Thursday that the final decision on holding the Games as planned rested with the IOC. Under the host city contract, the IOC has the right to terminate the contract if it has reasonable grounds to believe the safety of the Games would be seriously threatened. Organisers have made provisions to cancel Tokyo 2020 in the event of a massive earthquake or other natural disaster, Japan’s Mainichi newspaper reported.