Abe: Games postponement possible
World not ready for event, says Japan PM
TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said yesterday the 2020 Tokyo Olympics cannot be held under current circumstances due to the new coronavirus pandemic, suggesting for the first time that the Games may have to be postponed.
His remarks came after Canada became the first major country to withdraw from the Games scheduled from July 24-Aug 9.
Later yesterday, World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe called for the Tokyo Olympics to be postponed.
Australia, meanwhile, told its athletes to prepare for a Tokyo Olympics in 2021 as expectations grew that the event would be postponed.
“If I’m asked whether we can hold the Olympics at this point in time, I would have to say that the world is not in such a condition,” Abe told a parliamentary session, adding he hopes to hold talks with International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach over the issue.
“It’s important that not only our country but also all the other participating countries can take part in the games fully prepared.”
On Sunday, the IOC said it will study alternative plans for the Tokyo Olympics and and make an assessment within the next four weeks.
Tokyo Olympic organising committee president Yoshiro Mori said he supports the IOC’s decision to review existing plans, adding representatives from Japan and the IOC will hold discussions to examine possible scenarios closely.
“Japan is in a critical state, and the situations in the United States and Europe have been abnormal,” Mori said. “We are not so foolish as to say we will do it under our first [plan].”
Abe, who has previously said he aims to hold the tournament in its “complete form,” also told the parliamentary session: “If it is difficult to hold the Games in such a way, we have to decide to postpone it, giving top priority to [the health of the] athletes.
“Although the IOC will make the final decision [on the matter], we are of the same view that cancellation is not an option.”
The IOC on Sunday officially admitted the possibility of pushing back the quadrennial event, saying it will examine various scenarios, adding that it will finalise discussions “within the next four weeks.”
Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto said reviewing the possibilities, including postponement, is “not easy,” and the organisers are open to “all options”.
Mori said some of the challenges the organisers will face in terms of postponement include handling the costs of delaying and the availability of venues.
Meanwhile, Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike told reporters: “[The IOC] clearly stated that cancellation will not happen, and I am glad to share that view.
“The Tokyo Games now have another goal — to defeat the novel coronavirus.”
CANADA’S WITHDRAWAL
Canadian Olympic officials on Sunday urged postponement of the Tokyo Games, saying that in view of the coronavirus pandemic they won’t send a team in the summer of 2020.
“The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC), backed by their Athletes’ Commissions, National Sports Organisations and the Government of Canada, have made the difficult decision to not send Canadian teams to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer of 2020,” the COC said in a statement.
“While we recognise the inherent complexities around a postponement, nothing is more important than the health and safety of our athletes and the world community.”
2021 TOURNAMENT
Australian Olympic officials said yesterday “it was clear” the Tokyo Games could not go ahead as scheduled this year and told its athletes to instead prepare for the event in 2021.
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) convened a board meeting yesterday and unanimously decided a Games starting in July was not possible given the uncertainty around the pandemic.
“It’s clear the Games can’t be held in July,” Australian chef de mission Ian Chesterman said.
AOC chief executive Matt Carroll said athletes needed certainty, and they must also prioritise their health and that of their families.
The board meeting decided the athletes “should now plan for an Olympics... next year”.
‘UNANIMOUS VIEW’
In a letter to IOC president Bach, World Athletics president Coe asked for the Games to be moved.
“Whilst we all know that different parts of the world are at different stages of the virus, the unanimous view across all our areas is that an Olympic Games in July this year is neither feasible nor desirable,” Coe said in his letter.
Coe voiced concerns over the issue of competition fairness, with many athletes struggling to train properly, and potential injuries if they have to push themselves harder nearer the tournament.
PROPER DECISION
US President Donald Trump said yesterday the United States would “be guided” by Japan’s decision over whether to hold the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
“We will be guided by the wishes of Prime Minister Abe of Japan, a great friend of the United States and a man who has done a magnificent job on the Olympic Venue, as to attending the Olympic Games in Japan. He will make the proper decision!” Trump tweeted.
In Moscow, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) said yesterday the world’s sporting authorities need to make balanced decisions based on logic and analysis in the face of coronavirus “panic” to determine whether Tokyo 2020 will go ahead this summer.
All members of the sporting community need to remain calm and act steadily and constructively to form a unified position, the ROC said in a statement on its website.