Another blow to Tokyo Olympics as 31 host towns abandon plans to welcome foreign athletes

At least 31 town administrations in Japan have refused to host overseas athletes for training and cultural exchanges before the Tokyo Olympics.

The development came hours after the governors of Kanagawa and Ibaraki prefectures, near Tokyo, said their hospitals would not be able to treat athletes if they fell ill.

Several prominent sporting events have been either canceled or postponed to prevent the resurgence of COVID-19 infections.

According to the Japanese daily Kyodo News, the United States athletics team has reportedly scrapped plans for a pre-Olympic camp in the Chiba prefecture, near Tokyo. Chiba was planning to welcome at least 120 US athletes in July and provide the best training facilities across three cities.

Meanwhile, Great Britain's Paralympic wheelchair basketball team and the Russian fencing team have also canceled their training camps near Tokyo.

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Won't be guided by public opinion, Tokyo Olympics will go ahead: IOC spokesman

The decision of town administrations to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics was seen as inevitable, faced as they are with acute shortage of manpower, caused by the pandemic. Without adequate staffing, the smaller municipalities would have found it difficult to cater to the medical needs of foreign athletes.

Over 528 municipal corporations had registered to host athletes from 184 nations during the Olympics and Paralympic Games, according to reports.

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Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), on Wednesday, reiterated its intent to host the Games despite growing local opposition. The governing body has come under rising pressure within Japan to cancel the Olympics amid a record surge in COVID-19 infections in and around Tokyo.

"We are now very much in an implementation phase with 78 days to go and fully concentrated on delivering the Games. When the Games happen and the Japanese people are proud hosts of an event that will be an historic moment, I think I am very confident we will see public opinion hugely in favour of the Games," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said in a virtual press meet.

Recently, a nationwide opinion poll conducted by the Yomiuri Shimbun daily showed that 60% of people in Japan were in support of the cancelation of the Games.

"We listen but won't be guided by public opinion. Everything is telling us ... that the games can go ahead and will go ahead," Adams added.

According to estimates, over 7,800 athletes stand qualified for the Tokyo Olympics as of now, covering 70% of the total qualification quota. An additional 10% is expected to be booked by June 29. The remaining 20% of entries will be allotted based on world rankings in around 33 sporting events.

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