After a One-Year Postponement, 'Cancellation' Looms... The Shaky Tokyo Olympics

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Although the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics were postponed by one year due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), there are ongoing forecasts that it will be difficult for the Olympics to be held normally next year if the pandemic is not completely contained.

Sugaya Norio, a visiting professor at Keio University School of Medicine in Japan and an advisory panel member of the World Health Organization (WHO), told foreign media on the 3rd, "Japan may be able to end the COVID-19 situation by next summer, but regions such as the United States, the African continent, and Brazil may not," adding, "This creates a 'tilted playing field' for athletes participating in the Olympics and may make it difficult to hold the Games."

Niki Yoshito, a visiting professor of infectious diseases at Showa University, also argued, "It takes at least two years to control an epidemic that crosses the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and if the Olympics are forced to proceed next year, spectators should be barred from entering the stadium."

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Japan agreed on March 24 to postpone the Tokyo Olympics by one year after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared. The new dates were set from July 23 to August 8, 2021. Nevertheless, as the infectious disease shows no signs of subsiding, there are repeated mentions of canceling the event.

Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo recently stated, "I believe that the Games cannot be held in their complete form if COVID-19 is not over." Prior to this, Tokyo Olympic organizing committee chairman Mori Yoshiro also asserted, "If the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics cannot be held next year, the Games will be canceled."

According to Johns Hopkins University, as of the afternoon of the day, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide is 3,428,490, with Japan's cumulative confirmed cases totaling 14,571.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.