It’s Japan’s International Commitment to Host Tokyo Olympic, Paralympic Games This Summer (1)
On June 1, Australia's women's softball team became the first international athletes to arrive in Japan for the Olympic Games scheduled to start on July 23 amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The team is to be followed by about 15,000 athletes, who will compete in both the Olympics and Paralympics, as well as some 53,000 journalists, sponsors, officials and staff visiting Japan for the events.
▼Great Significance of Hosting Olympic, Paralympic Games
Tokyo was chosen to host the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics by promising to hold the games in a safe and secure manner with the spirit of omotenashi, or selfless hospitality. Many countries that have undergone or are currently battling much more serious COVID-19 infections than Japan are sending athletes in the belief that the host nation will live up to its promise.
Polls show that people in Japan are divided over whether the games should be held this summer, with a persistent call for cancelling or further postponing the events. They were originally slated for the summer of 2020, but delayed by one year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But what is important now is not to discuss whether or not to hold the games, but to redouble our efforts to realize a safe and secure Olympics and Paralympics. That is a responsibility of a host nation and how we should express our gratitude to the countries that supported Tokyo’s bid to host the events.
At the same time, the games held amid the pandemic will be an important opportunity to demonstrate global unity in battling COVID-19, putting the Tokyo events in an unprecedented position in the history of Olympic and Paralympic Games.
▼G7 Leaders Support Holding the Tokyo Games
The leaders of the Group of Seven countries issued a joint communique at the end of their meeting on June 13 in Cornwall, the United Kingdom, reiterating their “support for the holding of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 in a safe and secure manner as a symbol of global unity in overcoming COVID-19.”
U.S. President Joe Biden at his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga prior to the G7 meeting said that he “affirmed his support for the Tokyo Olympic Games moving forward with all public health measures necessary to protect athletes, staff and spectators,” according to the White House.
French President Emmanuel Macron told Mr. Suga that he is looking forward to attending the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, said the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
The Japanese prime minister lifted the COVID-19 state of emergency covering Tokyo and eight other prefectures on June 20 as the curve of new cases has flattened, but the capital and six other prefectures will stay under a “quasi-emergency” state until July 11, keeping some curbs such as on restaurant hours.
▼More Compact Games Than Originally Planned
Foreign spectators are banned from attending the Games. Following so-called Five Party talks online on June 21 between the central government, the Tokyo Metropolitan government, the Tokyo Organizing Committee, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee, Tokyo Games minister Tamayo Marukawa announced that attendance during the Olympic games will be capped at 10,000 per venue or 50% of the venue capacity－whichever figure is lower.
Prior to this announcement, Prime Minister Suga didn’t rule out banning spectators to ensure safety and security. “If a state of emergency is declared, that is a possibility,” he said.
The Olympic and Paralympic games will be less showy and more compact than they were projected when the IOC voted in 2013 to choose Tokyo as the host of the 2020 games. But given the circumstances, it is much more important and significant to host the events this summer than in normal times.
(To be continued)