Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe finally admits postponing the Tokyo Olympics may be ‘inevitable’ as Canada and Australia pull out of the games due to coronavirus fears
- Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe conceded that a delay to the Tokyo Olympics could be ‘inevitable’
- The Olympics have never been postponed or cancelled during peacetime
- It came as Team Canada announced that it will not participate in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer of 2020
- Canadian officials called for the games to be postponed for a year as coronavirus lockdowns and travel restrictions make it unlikely the games can go ahead
- More than 13,000 people have died globally from the coronavirus pandemic
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe has conceded that a delay to the Tokyo Olympic Games could be ‘inevitable’ as the world continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic.
On Monday, Abe told parliament that Japan was still committed to hosting a ‘complete’ Games, but added: ‘If that becomes difficult, in light of considering athletes first, it may become inevitable that we make a decision to postpone.’
The decision came as Team Canada and Team Australia announced they will not be sending athletes if the games are staged this year.
Japanese Prime Minister Abe told parliament that Japan was still committed to hosting a ‘complete’ Games
The IOC said on Sunday it would hold discussions that would include an option of putting back the July 24 start date or even moving the Games by a year or more due to the global coronavirus outbreak, but said cancelling the Games would not solve problems or help anybody.
Opposition to holding the Games in July has risen sharply in the past 48 hours, with several major stakeholders such as U.S. Track and Field and UK Athletics calling for a delay.
More than 13,000 people have died globally since the coronavirus outbreak began.
Canada’s withdrawal will add to growing pressure on the IOC to alter the schedule after criticism from a slew of current and former athletes with health concerns.
The Olympics have never been postponed or cancelled during peacetime.
A decision should come ‘within the next four weeks’, the IOC said.
The comments from Prime Minister Abe were his first acknowledgement that the 2020 Games may not open as scheduled on July 24.
‘Cancellation is not an option,’ Abe said, echoing comments from IOC chief Thomas Bach, who ruled out scrapping the Games, saying it ‘would not solve any problem and would help nobody’.
‘Human lives take precedence over everything, including the staging of the Games,’ Bach wrote in an open letter to athletes.
The IOC warned that the logistics of postponing the Games were extremely complicated, with venues potentially unavailable, millions of hotel nights already booked and a packed international sports calendar.
‘Postponing the Olympic Games is not like moving a football game to next Saturday,’ Bach said.
Organisers and Japanese officials have ruled out the possibility of a cancellation of the Games over the coronavirus outbreak
The IOC is responsible for making any final decision on the Games, and has come under increasing pressure as the coronavirus crisis grows.
The virus has already had an impact, with qualifiers cancelled and events to celebrate the Olympic torch arrival and relay scaled back.
Despite the measures, tens of thousands of people flocked to a cauldron displaying the flame in northeastern Japan, raising fears about whether the relay can be held safely.
The idea of holding the Games on schedule has drawn a swelling chorus of objections.
On Sunday, nine-time Olympic track and field champion Carl Lewis, and the head of French athletics, became the latest to urge a delay.
‘I just think it’s really difficult for an athlete to prepare, to train, to keep their motivation if there’s complete uncertainty. That’s the hardest thing,’ Lewis told Houston television station KRIV.
‘I think a more comfortable situation would be two years and put it in the Olympic year with the Winter Olympics (Beijing 2022) and then make it kind of a celebratory Olympic year.’