Tokyo Olympics feeling impact of virus’ spread
With the summer games just five months away, organizers are getting anxious with three deaths and 700 cases in Japan.
TOKYO — The Tokyo Olympics open in five months on July 24. The Paralympics open on Aug. 25. But the fastspreading coronavirus from China is making Tokyo organizers very anxious. Three deaths have been reported in Japan with more than 700 cases — over 600 from a cruise ship that was docked in Yokohama. Globally, more than 77,000 people have been infected in 29 countries, and more than 2,300 have died — almost all in China. China is the host for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Local organizers and the Switzerland-based International Olympics Committee have said repeatedly the games will not be canceled or postponed. Since the modern Olympics began in 1896, they have only been canceled during wartime.
Here’s some questions and answers about the virus and its threat to the Olympics.
Q: Will the Tokyo Olympics be canceled or postponed?
The IOC, local organizers, the Tokyo city government and everyone involved is saying “no.” That includes Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. However, a respected Japanese virologist said this week the games would have to be postponed or canceled if they opened tomorrow. “I’m not sure of the situation at the end of July,” Dr. Hitoshi Oshitani said. He said it would be “difficult to have the Olympics (now).” Other scientists have said they can’t forecast what the situation will be in five months.
Q: Are other events linked to the Olympics being canceled or postponed?
Yes. And the list is growing. Tokyo organizers announced very late on Friday night — near midnight Tokyo time — that training for 80,000 unpaid volunteers was being delayed until May or later. Some volunteers come from abroad. Organizers acknowledge they cannot run the games without them. Organizers this week also announced that a small test event in Tokyo Feb. 28-March 1 would be limited to only Japanese. The test is for Paralympic boccia and was to involve non-Japanese athletes.
Two upcoming test events — wheelchair rugby on March 12-15 and gymnastics on April 4-6 — are to have international fields. Tokyo spokesman Masa Takaya said this week he could not guarantee that non-Japanese would take part.
The Tokyo Marathon on March 1, usually with over 30,000 runners, is being limited to a few hundred elite athletes.
Dozens of sports events outside Japan are affected. Some Olympic qualifiers are being moved or postponed, which complicates life for athletes, sports federations, national Olympic bodies, and border officials who have to deal with health issues.
Q: Will the Olympics be moved to another country?
Shaun Bailey, a Conservative Party candidate for London mayor, made that suggestion this week. It sounded like a political stunt. Some in London also wanted the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics moved to the British capital because of the Zika virus. The games went ahead and the mosquito-borne virus subsided.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said it was “inappropriate” to make a serious issue like the virus a talking point for London’s mayoral race.
Q: What about the torch relay?
So far it is on. The relay starts on March 26 in northeastern Japan and will circulate around the country for several months. It will involve mostly Japanese carrying the torch, but non-Japanese will be involved. Any change to planning would be a worrying sign.
Q: How much money is involved?
Japanese companies have paid over $3 billion for sponsorship deals to local organizers, an amount that is at least twice any previous Olympics. Local organizers say they are spending about $13 billion, although a national audit report puts the cost at twice that much. U.S. television network NBC pays about $1 billion for the broadcast rights to the Olympics. The July 24-Aug. 9 Tokyo Olympic slot is mostly determined by television.