- Japan is privately admitting that the Tokyo 2020 Olympics are doomed, but is still publicly insisting they’ll go ahead.
- The Times of London reported late Thursday that the government had privately agreed that holding the Games amid the coronavirus pandemic was “too difficult.”
- However, on Friday, Japan denied the report, with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga saying the Games will go ahead as “proof that mankind will have overcome the virus.”
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Japan is privately admitting that the Tokyo 2020 Olympics are doomed, but is still publicly insisting they’ll go ahead.
According to The Times of London, the Japanese government has privately agreed to cancel the Games, which had already been postponed by a year, with the intention of hosting them in 2032, the next available date for the Games which currently does not have a host city.
A senior member of the ruling coalition told The Times that the government had concluded that holding the games amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is “too difficult.”
“No one wants to be the first to say so but the consensus is that it’s too difficult,” the person told The Times. “Personally, I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
Tokyo and 10 of Japan’s prefectures are currently in a state of emergency because of record infection rates, with restaurants and bars forced to close from 8 p.m., while foreign visitors are also banned from entering the country.
The rescheduled Games are set to commence on July 23, but that is looking increasingly unlikely.
"No one wants to be the first to say so but the consensus is that it's too difficult," the unnamed source said.
"Personally, I don't think it's going to happen."
On Friday, Japan denied the report from The Times, insisting the Games will go ahead as scheduled.
"We will clearly deny the report," Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Manabu Sakai said in a news conference, according to Sky Sports.
"At some point in time, we will naturally make a decision as to whether to actually hold [the Games].
"Until then the Japanese government will do what it needs to do and make progress and prepare for it."
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga added, according to LBC: "I am determined to realise a safe and secure Tokyo Games as proof that mankind will have overcome the virus."
In addition to the Japanese government's denial that the Games will be scrapped, the IOC issued its own statement Friday, saying that it is "categorically untrue" that this is the case.
The Australian and United States Olympic Committees also denied speculation that the Games will be cancelled for a second time.
"Any official communication on the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 will come from the IOC, Tokyo Organising Committee and the Japanese government," the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee wrote on Twitter.
"We have not received any information suggesting the Games will not happen as planned, and our focus remains on the health and preparedness of Team USA athletes ahead of the Games this summer."
Australian Olympic Committee CEO Matt Carroll told reporters on Friday, according to ESPN: "The Tokyo Games are on. The flame will be lit on the 23rd of July 2021.
"This has just been reconfirmed again by the Japanese prime minister this afternoon in parliament in Tokyo."It will be a very different Games, simpler, with a focus on the athletes and their competitions."
The 2020 Games will remain in limbo for some time
The status of the rearranged Games has been up in the air for several weeks, with high-ranking IOC members already questioning the feasibility of the event while the pandemic continues.
Dick Pound, a senior member of the committee, said earlier in January that he "can't be certain" that the Games will go ahead this summer.
"I can't be certain because the ongoing elephant in the room would be the surges in the virus," Pound said. "I would give it 3-to-1 odds of going ahead on the basis of what we know today," he added.
The Japanese public is also turning against the Games being held this year, with a poll from national broadcaster NHK showing that only 16% of Japanese people think the Olympics should go ahead in July, while a combined 77% think they should be either postponed again or canceled for good.
38% of those polled expressed support for canceling the Games, while 39% said they'd favor a postponement.
Read more:
Tokyo Olympics officials say the summer games are still on track despite Japan's COVID-19 surge
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