Experts have warned that it would be difficult to hold the Tokyo Olympics, already postponed by an year to 2021, on time.
Yoshitake Yokokura, head of the Japan Medical Association, told mediapersons on Tuesday that an effective vaccine against the coronavirus was essential to holding the Olympics on schedule in 2021. “I am not saying that Japan should or shouldn’t host the Olympics, but that it would be difficult to do so. Unless an effective vaccine is developed, I expect hosting the Olympics will be difficult," Yokokura was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Yokokura also noted that the nationwide state of emergency in Japan, due to be lifted on May 6, should not be lifted "at this stage". Yokukara argued Japan’s coronavirus testing rate was still not sufficient to prove that contagion is under control.
Kentaro Iwata, a Japanese professor of infectious disease, told Associated Press last week, "I am very pessimistic about holding the Olympic Games next summer unless you hold the Olympic Games in a totally different structure such as no audience or a very limited participation."
Yokukara had also previously referred to the possibility of a 'spectator-less' Olympics, citing similar discussions in other sports.
The concerns about the viability of the Tokyo Olympics come even as Japan stares at higher costs associated with the delay. Japan is estimated to have spent approximately $13 billion to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics this year.
The Associated Press reported that Japan may need to spend anywhere between $2 billion to $6 billion more to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics next year.
The messages of caution from health experts come days after the head of the Tokyo Olympics organising committee declared that there was "absolutely no chance" of postponing the event beyond its scheduled start date of July 23, 2021. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had reportedly decided against a two-year delay of the Olympics.
