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Eugene Hoshiko / AP
A man looks at a countdown calendar showing 200 days to start the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The countdown clock for the postponed Tokyo Olympics hit 200 days for Monday, as Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he would consider declaring a state of emergency.
New coronavirus cases have risen to record highs in Tokyo and neighboring prefectures. Japan has never had a lockdown for Covid-19, instead it has tried to juggle the economy and health risks.
But the deadline for the Tokyo Olympics organizers, the International Olympic Committee, and various Japanese government entities trying to hold the Games amid a pandemic is approaching.
Officials have pledged to announce concrete plans early in the new year on how to get 15,000 Olympians and Paralympians in Japan; on the security of the Athletes’ Village and hundreds of thousands of fans, media, judges, officials, announcers and VIPs.
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Suga pledged again to hold the Olympics, saying it would be “proof that people have overcome the coronavirus” and said approval of the vaccine will be sped up a month so that vaccines can start in February instead of March.
Japan has attributed more than 3,400 deaths to Covid-19, modest by global standards for a country of 125 million, but concerning as new cases rise rapidly. A poll conducted last month by national broadcaster NHK shows that 63 percent want the Olympics postponed or canceled.
AP
Yoshiro Mori, center, chairman of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, with CEO Toshiro Muto, right.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and the governors of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures called on the national government on Saturday to declare a state of emergency after the capital recorded a daily record of 1,337 new cases on New Year’s Eve. New. That marked a jump of nearly 400 in just a few days.
Yoshiro Mori, chairman of the organizing committee and former prime minister, again ruled out any cancellation of the games in an interview several days ago with the Nikkan Sports newspaper. He was asked when the decision to have local fans or fans from abroad would be made.
“Sometime from March to May,” he replied. “The final deadline to make a decision would be May, but it could come earlier.”
Any reduction of fans will affect the budget of the organizing committee. Tokyo has budgeted $ 800 million for ticket sales and any shortfall will have to be covered by government entities, which are paying most of the Olympic bills.
Kiichiro Sato / AP
People walk through a countdown calendar showing 200 days to the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Monday in Tokyo.
The official budget for the Tokyo Olympics was increased last month to $ 15.4 billion, an increase of $ 2.8 billion due to the delay. However, various government audits in recent years suggest that the true figure is about $ 25 billion.
Everything but $ 6.7 billion is public money.
Mori said the opening ceremony, scheduled for July 23, could be problematic with thousands of athletes and officials gathered to parade around the stadium. He also suggested that the ceremony could not be shortened, as the television announcers had paid for the lucrative time. He said some officials could be excluded from the parade.
Television determines much of the Olympic programming and the sale of broadcasting rights accounts for 73 percent of the IOC’s revenue. Another 18 percent comes from big sponsors like Coca-Cola and Toyota.
The torch relay, which begins March 25, will also face crowds with 10,000 runners expected for nearly four months. Coca-Cola and Toyota are the main sponsors.
